COMPARISON OF BETA-PROTEIN A4 DEPOSITS AND ALZ-50-STAINED CYTOSKELETAL CHANGES IN THE HYPOTHALAMUS AND ADJOINING AREAS OF ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE PATIENTS - AMORPHIC PLAQUES AND CYTOSKELETAL CHANGES OCCUR INDEPENDENTLY/

Alzheimer's disease is characterized neuropathologically by senile pla ques and cytoskeletal changes. It has been proposed that amorphic plaq ues would locally induce anterograde propagation of cytoskeletal chang es in consecutive neurons followed by amorphic plaque deposition at th eir axonal terminals. The Alzheimer changes would spread in this way a long neural pathways. To test the 'primary amyloid anatomical cascade hypothesis', Congo red staining, beta-protein/A4 (A beta) antiserum an d Alz-50, which recognizes cytoskeletal changes, were ap plied to the hypothalamus and adjoining brain areas of five Alzheimer's disease pat ients of 40-90 years of age and five age- and sex-matched controls. Th e results showed that (1) virtually all A beta plaques in the hypothal amus were of the Congo red-negative amorphic type; (2) amorphic plaque s and Alz-50-stained cytokeletal changes were observed not only in all Alzheimer's disease patients but also in a non-demented, 90-year-old control subject; (3) the density of amorphic plaques in the hypothalam us was unrelated to the duration of the dementia; (4) the density of a morphic plaques was unrelated to that of Alz-50-stained cytoskeletal c hanges; (5) double-labeling with anti-A beta and Alz-50 did not show a n evident topical relationship between amorphic plaque deposition and the occurrence of cytoskeletal changes; and (6) the distribution of A beta and Alz-50 staining in five brain areas, for which essential anat omical information is available, did not support the primary amyloid a natomical cascade hypothesis. Amorphic plaques and cytoskeletal change s rather occur independently.