Neuritic pathology is lacking in the entorhinal cortex, subiculum and hippocampus in middle-aged adults with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or unipolar depression.

Full Abstract

Earlier reports have provided conflicting results regarding the association between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mental disorders. Using a well-characterized postmortem series of 40 middle-aged human brains, we have performed quantitative analysis of neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques in the entorhinal cortex, subiculum and rostral hippocampus in 9 subjects with schizophrenia, 8 with bipolar disorder, 12 with depression, and 11 age- and sex-matched controls. No significant differences were found among the four groups. Our study indicates that the Alzheimer-type changes, which might be related to the likelihood of AD development later in life, are not increased in middle-aged subjects with mental illness. The result also supports the more recent reports that have demonstrated no increased incidence of AD in mentally ill patients.

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Author information

Author/s: Damadzic, Ruslan (R); Shuangshoti, Shanop (S); Giblen, Georgeta (G); Herman, Mary M (MM);

Affiliation: Section of Neuropathology, Clinical Brain Disorders Branch, Building 36, Room 3A24, 36 Convent Drive, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-4091, USA.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Acta neuropathologica (Acta Neuropathol), published in Germany. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-May; vol 103 (issue 5) : pp 488-94

Dates: Created 2002/04/05; Completed 2002/06/21; Revised 2007/11/09;

PMID: 11935265, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Age Factors
Aged
Alzheimer Disease - complications; pathology; physiopathology
Bipolar Disorder - complications; pathology; physiopathology
Depressive Disorder - complications; pathology; physiopathology
Entorhinal Cortex - pathology; physiopathology
Female

Female
Hippocampus - pathology; physiopathology
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Neurofibrillary Tangles - pathology
Schizophrenia - complications; pathology; physiopathology
Senile Plaques - pathology

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