TAU, UBIQUITIN, AND ALPHA-BETA-CRYSTALLIN IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY DEFINETHE PRINCIPAL CAUSES OF DEGENERATIVE FRONTOTEMPORAL DEMENTIA

Objective: We investigated the use of immunostaining with antibodies t o tau, ubiquitin, and alpha B-crystallin in defining a protocol for th e staged neuropathologic examination of brains from patients with a pr ogressive frontotemporal dementia. Design: Brains obtained from 50 pat ients dying with the clinical diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia wer e examined histopathologically to define pathologic distinctions. Sett ing: Two university hospital neuropathology departments. Results: Anti -tau immunostaining defined corticobasal degeneration, Alzheimer's dis ease, and Pick's disease; antiubiquitin defined motor neuron disease w ith dementia. The remaining brains have frontal lobe degeneration: the use of alpha B-crystallin immunostaining, on these, to detect balloon ed neurons may help to define two groups of patients, one of which we believe may represent a variant of Pick's disease. Conclusion: These f indings indicate that immunostaining with these antibodies is essentia l for the evaluation of frontal dementia.