Tau epitopes in spinal cord neurofibrillary lesions in Chamorros of Guam

We examined spinal cord sections from Guamanian Chamorros with or without a myotrophic lateral sclerosis or parkinsonism-dementia complex using immunoh istochemistry and antibodies to epitopes that span the length of tau to cha racterize the tau epitope profile of neurofibrillary tangles in these spina l cords. Most:(16/20) spinal cords, including some from Chamorros without d ocumented clinical disease, contained tangles with a tau epitope profile si milar to the tangles found in the forebrain and brain stem of these patient s. NeuroReport 11:3427-3430 (C) 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.