title: Inhomogeneous distribution of Alzheimer pathology along the isocortical relief. Are cortical convolutions an Achilles heel of evolution?
abstract: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is neuropathologically characterized by neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Progression of both plaques and tangles throughout the brain follows a hierarchical distribution which is defined by intrinsic cytoarchitectonic features and extrinsic connectivity patterns. What has less well been studied is how cortical convolutions influence the distribution of AD pathology. Here, the distribution of both plaques and tangles within subsulcal gyral components (fundi) to components forming their top regions at the subarachnoidal brain surface (crowns) by stereological methods in seven different cortical areas was systematically compared. Further, principle differences in cytoarchitectonic organization of cortical crowns and fundi that might provide the background for regionally selective vulnerability were attempted to identify. It was shown that both plaques and tangles were more prominent in sulcal fundi than gyri crowns. The differential distribution of pathology along convolutions corresponds to subgyral differences in the vascular network, GFAP-positive astrocytes and intracortical and subcortical connectivity. While the precise mechanisms accounting for these differences remain open, the presence of systematic inhomogeneities in the distribution of AD pathology along cortical convolutions indicates that the phylogenetic shaping of the cortex is associated with features that render the human brain vulnerable to AD pathology.
authors: Paul Flechsig Institute of Brain Research, Department of Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration, Universität Leipzig, Liebigstrasse 19, Leipzig, 04103, Germany.
authors: Thomas
authors: T
authors: Arendt
authors: Paul Flechsig Institute of Brain Research, Department of Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration, Universität Leipzig, Liebigstrasse 19, Leipzig, 04103, Germany.
authors: Markus
authors: M
authors: Morawski
authors: Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Aulweg 123, Giessen, 35385, Germany.
authors: Ulrich
authors: U
authors: Gärtner
authors: Paul Flechsig Institute of Brain Research, Department of Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration, Universität Leipzig, Liebigstrasse 19, Leipzig, 04103, Germany.
authors: Nadine
authors: N
authors: Fröhlich
authors: Paul Flechsig Institute of Brain Research, Department of Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration, Universität Leipzig, Liebigstrasse 19, Leipzig, 04103, Germany.
authors: Falko
authors: F
authors: Schulze
authors: Paul Flechsig Institute of Brain Research, Department of Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration, Universität Leipzig, Liebigstrasse 19, Leipzig, 04103, Germany.
authors: Nils
authors: N
authors: Wohmann
authors: Paul Flechsig Institute of Brain Research, Department of Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration, Universität Leipzig, Liebigstrasse 19, Leipzig, 04103, Germany.
authors: Carsten
authors: C
authors: Jäger
authors: Department of Neuropathology, Universität Leipzig, Liebigstrasse 24, Leipzig, 04103, Germany.
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Eisenlöffel
authors: Department of Psychiatry, Universität Leipzig, Semmelweisstrasse 10, Leipzig, 4103, Germany.
authors: Hermann-Josef
authors: HJ
authors: Gertz
authors: Department of Neuropathology, Universität Leipzig, Liebigstrasse 24, Leipzig, 04103, Germany.
authors: Wolf
authors: W
authors: Mueller
authors: Paul Flechsig Institute of Brain Research, Department of Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration, Universität Leipzig, Liebigstrasse 19, Leipzig, 04103, Germany.
authors: Kurt
authors: K
authors: Brauer
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000378:metabolism; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016874:Neurofibrillary Tangles / Q000473:pathology*; D058225:Plaque, Amyloid / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides
keywords: amyloid plaques; cortical surface; gyrus; neurofibrillary tangles; sulcus