[Pathologic diagnosis of non-Alzheimer type dementia].
OBJECTIVE
To characterize histopathologic features of non-Alzheimer type dementia.


METHODS
Bodian, Gallyas-Braak silver staining, tau and ubiquitin immunohistochemistry were applied in an analysis of 22 cases of autopsy-proven neurodegenerative dementia. Appearance, distribution and immunoreactivity of neuronal and glial inclusions in the brain were observed. The final histological diagnoses were made according to the pathological criteria for several types of common non-Alzheimer type dementia.


RESULTS
Among the 22 cases of neurodegenerative dementia, 12 cases were identified as non-Alzheimer type dementia, including Pick's disease (2 cases), progressive supranuclear palsy (3 cases) and corticobasal degeneration (3 cases), dementia with Lewy bodies (1 case), and Parkinson's disease (3 cases). Another 10 cases consisted of pure Alzheimer's disease (AD, 9 cases) and AD combined with argyrophilic grain disease (1 case). Characteristic neuronal and glial inclusions, such as classical and cortical Lewy body, Pick body, Globous NFTs, astrocytic plaque and tufted astrocyte, argyrophilic grain were found in the brains of non-Alzheimer type dementia. Classical and cortical Lewy bodies were not argyrophilic but were immunoreactive to ubiquitin. Pick bodies, Globous NFTs, astrocytic plaques, tufted astrocytes and argyrophilic grains were all argyrophilic. Pick bodies showed tau and ubiquitin immunoreactivity. However, Globous NFTs, astrocytic plaques, tufted astrocytes, and argyrophilic grains were reactive only to tau immunohistochemistry.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings of characteristic neuronal and glial inclusions may help to differentiate non-Alzheimer type dementia from AD, and in conjunction with Gallyas-Braak staining and immunohistochemistry for tau and ubiquitin, to further define histopathologic subcategories of non-Alzheimer type dementia.
Zhu
Ming-wei
MW
Department of Geriatric Neurology, PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China. zhumw301@163.com
Wang
Lu-ning
LN
Li
Xiang-hong
XH
Hu
Ya-zhuo
YZ
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000473:pathology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020961:Lewy Body Disease / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000473:pathology; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000473:pathology; D020774:Pick Disease of the Brain / Q000473:pathology; D013494:Supranuclear Palsy, Progressive / Q000473:pathology