Biomaterial Database

Presenile dementia with Lewy bodies and neurofibrillary tangles. 1978

L S Forno, and P J Barbour, and R L Norville

A 55-year-old man showed progressive mental deterioration over a five-year period along with a syndrome of "normal pressure hydrocephalus." At autopsy the main finding was the presence of two age-related neurocellular changes, the neurofibrillary tangle and the Lewy body, in limbic structures and in the pigmented nuclei of the brain stem. Cortical changes were mild, and senile plaques were not present. Electron microscopy occasionally showed an intimate relationship between the paired helical filaments of the neurofibrillary tangle and Lewy bodies in nerve cell processes in the hypothalamus. The findings suggest a closer relationship between Lewy bodies and neurofibrillary tangles than usually suspected. We also speculate that the presence of one type of age change in the brain may accelerate or predispose to other age changes.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007031	Hypothalamus	Ventral part of the DIENCEPHALON extending from the region of the OPTIC CHIASM to the caudal border of the MAMMILLARY BODIES and forming the inferior and lateral walls of the THIRD VENTRICLE.	Lamina Terminalis,Preoptico-Hypothalamic Area,Area, Preoptico-Hypothalamic,Areas, Preoptico-Hypothalamic,Preoptico Hypothalamic Area,Preoptico-Hypothalamic Areas
D008032	Limbic System	A set of forebrain structures common to all mammals that is defined functionally and anatomically. It is implicated in the higher integration of visceral, olfactory, and somatic information as well as homeostatic responses including fundamental survival behaviors (feeding, mating, emotion). For most authors, it includes the AMYGDALA; EPITHALAMUS; GYRUS CINGULI; hippocampal formation (see HIPPOCAMPUS); HYPOTHALAMUS; PARAHIPPOCAMPAL GYRUS; SEPTAL NUCLEI; anterior nuclear group of thalamus, and portions of the basal ganglia. (Parent, Carpenter's Human Neuroanatomy, 9th ed, p744; NeuroNames, http://rprcsgi.rprc.washington.edu/neuronames/index.html (September 2, 1998)).	Limbic Systems,System, Limbic,Systems, Limbic
D008297	Male		Males
D008875	Middle Aged	An adult aged 45 - 64 years.	Middle Age
D009454	Neurofibrils	The delicate interlacing threads, formed by aggregations of neurofilaments and neurotubules, coursing through the CYTOPLASM of the body of a NEURON and extending from one DENDRITE into another or into the AXON.	Neurofibril
D009474	Neurons	The basic cellular units of nervous tissue. Each neuron consists of a body, an axon, and dendrites. Their purpose is to receive, conduct, and transmit impulses in the NERVOUS SYSTEM.	Nerve Cells,Cell, Nerve,Cells, Nerve,Nerve Cell,Neuron
D001933	Brain Stem	The part of the brain that connects the CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES with the SPINAL CORD. It consists of the MESENCEPHALON; PONS; and MEDULLA OBLONGATA.	Brainstem,Truncus Cerebri,Brain Stems,Brainstems,Cerebri, Truncus,Cerebrus, Truncus,Truncus Cerebrus
D003704	Dementia	An acquired organic mental disorder with loss of intellectual abilities of sufficient severity to interfere with social or occupational functioning. The dysfunction is multifaceted and involves memory, behavior, personality, judgment, attention, spatial relations, language, abstract thought, and other executive functions. The intellectual decline is usually progressive, and initially spares the level of consciousness.	Senile Paranoid Dementia,Amentia,Familial Dementia,Amentias,Dementia, Familial,Dementias,Dementias, Familial,Dementias, Senile Paranoid,Familial Dementias,Paranoid Dementia, Senile,Paranoid Dementias, Senile,Senile Paranoid Dementias
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D006850	Hydrocephalus, Normal Pressure	A form of compensated hydrocephalus characterized clinically by a slowly progressive gait disorder (see GAIT DISORDERS, NEUROLOGIC), progressive intellectual decline, and URINARY INCONTINENCE. Spinal fluid pressure tends to be in the high normal range. This condition may result from processes which interfere with the absorption of CSF including SUBARACHNOID HEMORRHAGE, chronic MENINGITIS, and other conditions. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, pp631-3)	Hakim Syndrome,Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus,Hakim's Syndrome,Hydrocephalus, Normal-Pressure,NPH (Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus),Hakim Syndromes,Hakim's Syndromes,Hakims Syndrome,NPHs (Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus),Syndrome, Hakim,Syndrome, Hakim's,Syndromes, Hakim,Syndromes, Hakim's