1. Paucity of Entorhinal Cortex Pathology of the Alzheimer’s Type in SuperAgers with Superior Memory Performance
- Author
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Janessa Engelmeyer, Eileen H. Bigio, M.-Marsel Mesulam, Qinwen Mao, Payam Abbassian, Allegra Kawles, Emily Rogalski, Sandra Weintraub, Hui Zhang, Changiz Geula, Margaret E. Flanagan, Tamar Gefen, Ivan Ayala, and Beth Makowski-Woidan
- Subjects
Male ,Aging ,Pathology ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Cognitive Neuroscience ,Plaque, Amyloid ,Stereology ,Neuropsychological Tests ,Memory performance ,Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Cognition ,Alzheimer Disease ,Memory ,Entorhinal Cortex ,Humans ,Medicine ,Dementia ,Cognitive impairment ,Biological Specimen Banks ,Aged, 80 and over ,business.industry ,Neurofibrillary Tangles ,medicine.disease ,Entorhinal cortex ,Increased risk ,chemistry ,Female ,Original Article ,Thioflavin ,business - Abstract
Advancing age is typically associated with declining memory capacity and increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Markers of AD such as amyloid plaques (AP) and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) are commonly found in the brains of cognitively average elderly but in more limited distribution than in those at the mild cognitive impairment and dementia stages of AD. Cognitive SuperAgers are individuals over age 80 who show superior memory capacity, at a level consistent with individuals 20–30 years their junior. Using a stereological approach, the current study quantitated the presence of AD markers in the memory-associated entorhinal cortex (ERC) of seven SuperAgers compared with six age-matched cognitively average normal control individuals. Amyloid plaques and NFTs were visualized using Thioflavin-S histofluorescence, 6E10, and PHF-1 immunohistochemistry. Unbiased stereological analysis revealed significantly more NFTs in ERC in cognitively average normal controls compared with SuperAgers (P
- Published
- 2021
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