Senile plaques (SP) are one of the characteristic pathological lesions
of Alzheimer's disease (AD). They are also seen in the brains of some
non-demented individuals as an age-related change. Identification of
clinical conditions associated with these ''incidental'' SP could prov
ide insight into AD pathogenesis. We have examined the presence of SP
in lobectomy specimens (n = 101) removed in the surgical treatment of
temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). SP were present in 10 specimens from epi
leptic patients aged 36 to 61 years and the presence of SP correlated
positively with patient age. No other significant AD-related pathology
was identified and no patients showed any evidence of dementia on neu
ropsychological testing. When compared with temporal lobe tissue from
non-demented, non-epileptic autopsy controls (n = 406), the density an
d distribution of SP was the same. The age-related incidence of SP how
ever, was significantly greater in the epileptics. This suggests that
some aspects of TLE has a positive influence on the formation of SP.