title: Hippocampal neurofibrillary tangle changes and aggressive behaviour in dementia.
abstract: Neuropsychiatric behaviours occur frequently in Alzheimer's disease and other dementias and are thought to arise from the neurodegenerative process. However, it is unclear whether neurodegenerative changes in the hippocampus are associated with neuropsychiatric behaviours such as aggression. In this study, semiquantitative measurements of cell loss, atrophy, neuritic plaque and neurofibrillary tangle load in the postmortem hippocampus were taken for dementia patients, prospectively assessed for neuropsychiatric behaviours. It was found that increased tangle load, but not other hippocampal neuropathological variables, was associated with increased severity of aggressive behaviours and presence of chronic aggression. This study suggests a pathogenic link between neurofibrillary tangle load and aggressive behaviours in the hippocampus of dementia patients.
authors.affiliation: Memory, Aging and Cognition Centre, National University Health System, Singapore. mitchell.lai@dementia-research.org
authors.forename: Mitchell K P
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Christopher P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hope
authors.forename: Margaret M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Esiri
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000374:Aggression / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003704:Dementia / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016874:Neurofibrillary Tangles / Q000473:pathology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012920:Social Behavior Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology