title: Neuropathological changes in aging brain.
abstract: Neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD) include tangles (NFT) and beta amyloid (Aβ) plaques. Despite numerous neuropathological studies that assessed the relationship of cognitive decline with neuropathologic lesions, their correlation still remains unclear. NFTs and Aβ plaques have been widely implicated and described in normal aging. The number of NFTs in the CA1 and the entorhinal cortex seems to be more closely related to cognitive status, compared to the amyloid load whose role still remains controversial in the AD. In this review, we refer to our main studies performed in Geneva during the past two decades attempting to assess the correlation of pathology with clinical expression. The theory of cognitive reserve has been proposed for further understanding of interindividual differences in terms of compensation despite the presence of pathological lesions. The increasing prevalence of the AD, the limitations of actual treatments, as well as the high public cost reflect the imperative need for better therapeutic and early diagnosis strategies in the future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health and Psychiatry, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, Aikaterini.Xekardaki@hcuge.ch.
authors.forename: Aikaterini
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Xekardaki
authors.forename: Eniko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kövari
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gold
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Papadimitropoulou
authors.forename: Ezio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Giacobini
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Herrmann
authors.forename: Panteleimon
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Giannakopoulos
authors.forename: Constantin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bouras
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D006801:Humans; D016874:Neurofibrillary Tangles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D058225:Plaque, Amyloid / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides