Fragmentation of the Golgi apparatus of the ballooned neurons in patients with corticobasal degeneration and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

We investigated immunohistologically the Golgi apparatus (GA) and the trans -Golgi network (TGN) of the cortical ballooned neurons (BNs) in two patient s with corticobasal degeneration and in five with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease . We observed that the BNs showed fragmentation of the GA and the TGN, acco mpanied by a reduction in the number of fragmented Golgi elements and by a unique perinuclear distribution. This is the first report of the abnormalit ies of GA in cortical BNs. These findings suggests that the GA and the TGN may play some roles in the BN formation.