IN-SITU EVIDENCE FOR DNA FRAGMENTATION IN HUNTINGTONS-DISEASE STRIATUM AND ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE TEMPORAL LOBES

To test the hypothesis that apoptosis is involved in human brain neuro degenerative disorders, we investigated whether DNA fragmentation occu rs in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Huntington's disease (HD) and Parkinso n's disease, as well as in temporal lobe epilepsy, using neurologicall y normal post-mortem human brain tissue as a control. Using in situ en d labelling of DNA, we found evidence of DNA fragmentation in cells in temporal cortex and hippocampus from patients with AD and in striatum from those with HD. In contrast, only scattered DNA fragmentation pos itive cells were detected in the pial surfaces of some of the neurolog ically normal human brains. Thus, cells in the HD striatum and AD temp oral cortex exhibited DNA fragmentation, suggesting that apoptosis may be involved in these disorders.