Neuropathological background of twenty-seven centenarian brains

Mizutani, Toshio; Shimada, Hiroyuki

doi:10.1016/0022-510x(92)90047-o

Cited by 97 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…In contrast to NFT, the frequent presence of diffuse Aß deposits and SP in area 17 in ND and VMCI centenarians reported here is consistent with previous studies showing an early and widespread amyloid pathology within the cerebral cortex in this age group [32,39,41,[51][52][53]. However, in agreement with a previous study of the entorhinal cortex [54], our results demonstrate that only 1-2.4% of the cross-sectional area of the primary visual cortex is covered by Aß in ND, VMCI and AD centenarians, implying that only a weak proportion of the whole functional tissue of the primary visual cortex is affected by amyloid deposition in this age group.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…Importantly, it has recently been shown that brains from ND old people can remain free of amyloid pathology until the 8th decade [55], and it is interesting to note that in the present series, 6 brains are totally devoid of SP and diffuse Aß deposits in the visual cortex. This was also shown in other brain regions for a minority of centenarians referred to as 'supernormal' [39,41]. Moreover, unlike younger elderly individuals, the LGN, the first thalamic visual relay, is consistently spared by Aß pathology in the very old, even in AD cases [25].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

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Mild Amyloid Pathology in the Primary Visual System of Nonagenarians and Centenarians

Leuba¹,

Saini²,

Zimmermann³

et al. 2001

Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord

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In order to study the patterns of Alzheimer disease (AD)-related pathology in the primary visual system of the oldest old, we performed a quantitative analysis of senile plaques (SP), diffuse β amyloid (Aβ) deposit and neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) distribution in primary area 17, and a semi-quantitative analysis in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), lateral inferior pulvinar (LIP) and superior colliculus (SC) of 21 individuals aged between 93 and 102 years. Among them, 10 cases were considered as non-demented (ND), while 9 presented very mild cognitive impairment (VMCI), and 2 cases had a clinical diagnosis of AD. Silver methenamine and Gallyas staining, Aβ and tau immunostaining revealed the distribution of AD lesions. In primary area 17, most cases, either ND or with VMCI displayed a low to medium number of SP. There was no significant difference in SP and Aβ deposit densities between ND and VMCI groups. On the whole, 0.4–2.4% of the cross-sectional cortical area was covered with Aβ deposits. Only 6 cases, either ND or with VMCI, were totally devoid of SP and diffuse Aβ deposits. Among the subcortical structures, the LIP and SC exhibited low densities of SP and Aβ deposits in about half of the ND and VMCI cases, while the LGN was totally spared. NFT were almost absent in area 17 and subcortical nuclei of ND and VMCI cases. These data imply that the ageing of the primary visual system in ND and VMCI nonagenarians and centenarians is characterised by the frequent development of mild amyloid pathology in area 17 in the absence of NFT. In agreement with previous studies in very old cohorts, they also suggest that amyloid deposition is not related to the early stages of the dementia process in the oldest old.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

Mild Amyloid Pathology in the Primary Visual System of Nonagenarians and Centenarians

Leuba¹,

Saini²,

Zimmermann³

et al. 2001

Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord

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“…A recent report by Mizutani and Hiroyuki [21] of 27 centenarians is of interest; they found no difference be tween brains of centenarians and those of younger elderly; three brains lacked Alzheimer-type changes or ischemic lesions. There was no significant neuronal loss or neurofi brillary change in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, or subcortical nuclei in any of the brains.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Senile Dementia of Extreme Aging: A Common Disorder of Centenarians

Powell¹

1994

Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord

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To study dementia in the extremely aged, I evaluated 40 centenarians with a mean age of 101.6 years (range: 100–107). The group completed 5.8 years of education, on average. Bradyphrenia and bradykinesia were common and most had impaired awareness and concern. The Folstein Mini-Mental State Exam and Washington University''s Clinical Dementia Rating Scale indicated moderately advanced dementia in more than half; 4 had a clinical pattern that suggested senile dementia of the Alzheimer''s type. A common pattern of dementia emerged consisting of preserved awareness of the environment, normal participation in conversations, mild bradyphrenia and bradykinesia with normal latency to respond to questions and memory impairment with diminished ability to learn new information. They had a constricted universe with limited awareness of events outside their personal sphere; they repeated themes and topics endlessly. This study suggests senile dementia is common in centenarians.

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“…The axons of the perforant path arise principally in layers II and III of the entorhinal cortex, with minor contributions from the deeper layers IV and V. Axons from layers II/IV project to the granule cells of the dentate gyrus and pyramidal cells of the CA3 region, whereas those from layers III/V project to the pyramidal cells of the CA1 and the subiculum. Pathologic findings [37][38][39][40] in patients with AD suggested that severe degeneration of the perforant pathway was a characteristic feature of AD. Our results showing the significant changes in the hippocampal surface were a probable consequence of this phenomenon.…”

Section: Pathologic Implications Of the Selected Featuresmentioning

confidence: 99%