FLUORO-JADE - A NOVEL FLUOROCHROME FOR THE SENSITIVE AND RELIABLE HISTOCHEMICAL-LOCALIZATION OF NEURONAL DEGENERATION

Fluoro-Jade is an anionic fluorochrome capable of selectively staining degenerating neurons in brain slices. The histochemical application o f Fluoro-Jade results in a simple, sensitive and reliable method for s taining degenerating neurons and their processes. The technique will d etect neuronal degeneration resulting from exposure to a variety of ne urotoxic insults. Fluoro-Jade can be combined with other fluorescent m ethodologies including immunofluorescence, fluorescent axonal tract tr acing, and fluorescent Nissl counterstaining. Compared to conventional methodologies, Fluoro-Jade is a more sensitive and definitive marker of neuronal degeneration than hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) or Nissl typ e stains, while being comparably sensitive yet considerably simpler an d more reliable than suppressed silver techniques. (C) 1997 Elsevier S cience B.V.