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NEURONAL DEGENERATION IN LOCUS CERULEUS AND CORTICAL CORRELATES OF ALZHEIMER DISEASE
Abstract
Relationships were examined between neuronal degeneration in the nucleus locus ceruleus (nLC), a parameter of central noradrenergic impairment, and neocortical markers of Alzheimer disease (AD). The loss of nLC neurons was found to correlate significantly with norepinephrine concentration, choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity, and numbers of plaques and tangles on Brodmann area 24 (cingulate); ChAT and plaque counts in area 21 (temporal); and with ChAT activity in area 10 (frontal). In addition, nLC neuronal counts were correlated significantly with the severity and estimated duration of dementia. The number of neurofibrillary tangles in nLC, which did not correlate significantly with neocortical markers of AD, correlated with the estimated duration and severity of dementia. These data suggest that changes in central noradrenergic pathways are related to the pathophysiology of AD.
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“Subsequent studies identified the locus coeruleus as the first site of pathology in AD subjects, with NFTs preceding cortical tau or Aβ deposits [41–43].”
From Systems-based proteomics to resolve the biology of Alzheimer’s disease beyond amyloid and tau (2021) · cites this paper as [43]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Bondareff, W., Mountjoy, C. Q., Roth, M., Rossor, M. N., Iversen, L. L., Reynolds, G. P., & Hauser, D. L.
- Affiliations
- University of Southern California (US)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Medical Research Council (GB)
- Venue
- Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders
- Published
- 1987
- Volume
- 1
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 256-262
- ISSN
- 0893-0341 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2053273884
- Cited by
- 166
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 1.60
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
- Keywords
- Alzheimer's disease, locus coeruleus, neurodegeneration, noradrenergic pathways, norepinephrine, choline acetyltransferase, amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, dementia severity, neocortex, cingulate cortex, temporal cortex, frontal cortex
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Alzheimer Disease, Cell Count, Cerebral Cortex, Choline O-Acetyltransferase, Humans, Locus Coeruleus, Nerve Degeneration, Neurofibrils, Neurons, Norepinephrine
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