DIFFERENT RATES OF NEURONAL DEGENERATION - AN EXQUISITE VARIATION OF THE CASCADE HYPOTHESIS

This morphometric, quantitative and correlative multivariate study of the hippocampal formation in human brains from two distinct normal agi ng populations provides an additional support to the notion that neuri tic plaques (NP) are an earlier stage of the pathological process unde rlying neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) formation. It is shown that the ra te of transformation of NP-affected neurons into NFT-bearing neurons m ay vary remarkably between distinct populations. In addition, it is pu t forward that different rates of neuronal degeneration may be one of the explanations for the existence of conflicting hypotheses regarding pathogenesis of NP and NFT and the relationships of these important h istological markers to psychical deterioration.