Senile dementia of the neurofibrillary tangle type (tangle-only dementia): neuropathological criteria and clinical guidelines for diagnosis.
Senile dementia of the NFT type (SD-NFT) is a subset of dementia in the elderly, characterized by numerous NFT in the hippocampal region and absence or scarcity of senile plaques throughout the brain. Senile dementia-NFT has also been referred to as tangle-only dementia, NFT-predominant form of SD, SD with tangles, or limbic NFT dementia. Herein are proposed the criteria for neuropathological diagnosis of SD-NFT: (i) late-onset dementia with abundant NFT in the hippocampal region and absence or scarcity of senile plaques (amyloid beta protein deposits) throughout the brain; and (ii) exclusion of other dementias with NFT. Some elderly individuals suffering from memory disorder without obvious dementia have neuropathological findings similar to SD-NFT, and they would represent a condition in the process of formation of the SD-NFT pathology. Guidelines for the clinical diagnosis of SD-NFT are also proposed; development of reliable diagnostic tests is necessary to differentiate AD and other neurodegenerative dementias from SD-NFT.
Yamada
Masahito
M
Department of Neurology and Neurobiology of Aging, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa, Japan. m-yamada@med.kanazawa-u.ac.jp
D000368:Aged; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D016874:Neurofibrillary Tangles / Q000473:pathology*