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Science 23 April 1982:
Vol. 216. no. 4544, pp. 413 - 415
DOI: 10.1126/science.6803359
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Articles

Science, Vol 216, Issue 4544, 413-415
Copyright © 1982 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Cholinergic innervation in neuritic plaques

RG Struble, LC Cork, PJ Whitehouse, and DL Price

Although several studies of Alzheimer's disease suggest that the frequency of neuritic plaques in the cerebral cortex is correlated with the severity of dementia and with reduction in presynaptic cholinergic markers in the cortex, the relationship between cholinergic cortical innervation and the pathogenesis of plaques is unknown. The hypothesis was tested that the neurites in the plaque consist, in part, of presynaptic cholinergic axons, many of which arise from neurons in the basal forebrain. This hypothesis was tested by analyzing the character and distribution of plaques in monkeys, aged 4 to 31 years, with staining for acetylcholin-esterase and also with Congo red and silver stains. Immature and mature plaques were rich in acetylcholinesterase. As the plaques matured, the amount of amyloid increased, and the number of neurites and the activity of acetylcholinesterase decreased. End-stage amyloid-rich plaques lacked acetylcholinesterase. These observations indicate that changes in cortical cholinergic innervation are an important feature in the pathogenesis and evolution of the neuritic plaque.


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