Cited by 643Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchAlzheimer's disease research and treatmentsNeuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms

Identification of normal and pathological aging in prospectively studied nondemented elderly humans

Dickson, Dennis W., Crystal, Howard A., Mattiace, Linda A., Masur, David M., Blau, Alan D., Davies, Peter, Yen, Shu-Hui, Aronson, Miriam K.·1992·Neurobiology of Aging

Abstract

Results of a standardized histochemical and immunocytochemical analysis of the brains of 14 nondemented elderly humans for whom prospective neurological and neuropsychological data had been collected for 3 to 8 years before death suggested that nondemented elderly humans fall into two pathological subgroups that are not clinically distinguishable. One was associated with moderate to marked cerebral amyloid deposition ("pathological aging"), while the other had either minimal or no amyloid deposition ("normal aging"). Neocortical and hippocampal neurofibrillary degeneration was either completely absent or of very limited degree in both subgroups. Both subgroups had ubiquitin-immunoreactive dystrophic neurites in the cerebral cortex and granular degeneration of myelin in white matter. These ubiquitin-immunoreactive structures seem to be a universal and invariant manifestation of brain aging, but the same cannot be said for amyloid deposition and neurofibrillary degeneration. Pathological aging might be preclinical Alzheimer's disease, but it currently cannot be distinguished from normal aging by even sensitive neuropsychological measures. These findings provide strong support for the hypothesis that cerebral amyloid deposition is not necessarily associated with clinically apparent cognitive dysfunction and that additional factors, such as neuronal or synaptic loss or widespread cytoskeletal aberrations, are necessary for dementia in AD.

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Crossref · 10.1016/0197-4580(92)90027-u

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Authors
Dickson, D. W., Crystal, H. A., Mattiace, L. A., Masur, D. M., Blau, A. D., Davies, P., Yen, S.-H., & Aronson, M. K.
Affiliations
Albert Einstein College of Medicine (US)
Corresponding author
Dickson, Dennis W.
Venue
Neurobiology of Aging
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
1992-01
Volume
13
Issue
1
Pages
179-189
ISSN
0197-4580 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2070137740
Cited by
643
References
53
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 22 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 28 · 2014: 22 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 19
FWCI
22.95
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Neurobiology of Aging (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (5p01ns019234-05, 5p01ag006803-11)
  • National Institute on Aging (AG-06803, AG03949, P01AG003949)
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NS-19234)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
Keywords
normal aging, pathological aging, cerebral amyloid deposition, preclinical Alzheimer's disease, neurofibrillary degeneration, hippocampus, cerebral cortex, dementia, cognitive impairment
MeSH terms
Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Alzheimer Disease, Cerebral Cortex, Female, Frontal Lobe, Hippocampus, Humans, Immunohistochemistry, Male, Memory Disorders, Nerve Degeneration, Prospective Studies, Reference Values, Thiazoles, Ubiquitins, Visual Cortex, Wechsler Scales, Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy, Neurofibrillary Tangles, Benzothiazoles

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