title: Morphometry of age pigment (lipofuscin) and of ceroid pigment deposits associated with vitamin E deficiency.
abstract: Consistent amounts of lipofuscin and of ceroid pigment associated with vitamin E deficiency are reported to represent morphological correlates of aging and increased oxidative stress. A reliable quantification of these yellow autofluorescent deposits is of critical biological significance, thus we carried out a computer-assisted morphometric study on the accumulation of lipofuscin in physiological aging and of ceroid pigment in vitamin E deficiency, respectively. The total area and the size distribution of lipofuscin or ceroid pigment deposits were measured in CA3 hippocampal pyramidal neurons of 6-, 12-, 18- and 25-month-old rats, as well as in vitamin E deficient animals of 18 months of age. An increase in the mean total area of lipofuscin and ceroid pigment was found in aging and in vitamin E deficiency. In both conditions, the proportion of large discrete deposits also increased. The similarity of changes observed in old and adult vitamin E deficient animals suggests that the underlying processes initiated by the absence of alpha-tocopherol from the diet of adult rats and in physiological aging may share some common mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Neurobiology of Aging Centre, N Masera Research Department, INRCA, Via Birarelli 8, I-60121 Ancona, Italy. p.fattoretti@inrca.it
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fattoretti
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bertoni-Freddari
authors.forename: Tiziana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Casoli
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Stefano
authors.forename: Moreno
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Solazzi
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Corvi