title: Dendritic and spinal pathology of the Purkinje cells from the human cerebellar vermis in Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Alzheimer's disease constitutes one of the main causes of dementia. It is clinically characterized by memory impairment, deterioration of intellectual faculties and loss of professional skills. Furthermore changes in equilibrium and limb coordination are clinically demonstrable in persons with Alzheimer's disease. In the present study we tried to figure out possible changes of the Purkinje cells in Alzheimer's disease brains.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied the Purkinje cells from the vermis of the cerebellum in 5 Alzheimer' disease brains Golgi technique.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the Purkinje cells from the inferior surface of the cerebellar hemispheres severe dendritic and spinal pathology consisting of loss of distal dendritic segments and alterations of dendritic spine morphology can be noticed in Alzheimer's disease brains.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The morphological and morphometric estimation of the dendrites and the dendritic spines of the Purkinje cells from the inferior surface of the cerebellar hemispheres in Alzheimer's disease brains revealed substantial alterations of the dendritic arborization and marked loss of the dendritic spines, which may be related to cognitive impairment and motor deficits in Alzheimer's disease.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neuropathology and Electron Microscopy, First Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Aristotelian University, 54006 Thessaloniki, Greece, iamav79@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Ioannis A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Mavroudis
authors.forename: Marina G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Manani
authors.forename: Foivos
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Petrides
authors.forename: Konstantina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Petsoglou
authors.forename: Samuel D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Njau
authors.forename: Vasiliki G
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: Stavros J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Baloyannis
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D049229:Dendritic Spines / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure