CORTICAL TANGLES IN PROGRESSIVE SUPRANUCLEAR PALSY

Ten cases of PSP were examined for the presence of neocortical and hip pocampal lesions. Samples from 10 cortical areas were stained by Bodia n's method and by tau, ubiquitin and beta A4 immunocytochemistry. For the sake of comparison, 5 Alzheimer's cases were studied with the same techniques. Neocortical tangles, star-like tufts of fibers, and neuro pil threads were seen in all the cases of PSP. They were stained by Bo dian's technique and labelled by an anti-tau, but not by a polyclonal anti-ubiquitin antibody. Senile plaques (Bodian's technique), diffuse or focal amyloid deposits (beta-A4 immunohistochemistry) were rare or absent. The density of tangles was the highest in area 4 and the lowes t in area 17. In area 4, the tangles were mainly located in layers V-V I. By contrast, the Alzheimer's tangles had a bimodal distribution (la yers III and V-VI). These results favor the specificity of cortical al terations in PSP.