TY - JOUR
T1 - Heterogeneity and selectivity of the degeneration of cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain of patients with Alzheimer's disease
AU - Lehéricy, Stéphane
AU - Hirsch, Étienne C.
AU - Cervera‐Piérot, Pascale
AU - Hersh, Louis B.
AU - Bakchine, Serge
AU - Piette, François
AU - Duyckaerts, Charles
AU - Hauw, Jean‐Jacques ‐J
AU - Javoy‐Agid, France
AU - Agid, Yves
PY - 1993/4/1
Y1 - 1993/4/1
N2 - Cholinergic neurons were studied by immunohistochemistry, with an antiserum against choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), in the basal forebrain (Ch1 to Ch4) of four patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and four control subjects. ChAT‐positive cell bodies were mapped and counted in Ch1 (medial septal nucleus), Ch2 (vertical nucleus of the diagonal band), Ch3 (horizontal nucleus of the diagonal band) and Ch4 (nucleus basalis of Meynert). Compared to controls, the number of cholinergic neurons in AD patients was reduced by 50% on average. The interindividual variations in cholinergic cell loss were high, neuronal loss ranging from moderate (27%) to severe (63%). Despite the small number of brains studied, a significant correlation was found between the cholinergic cell loss and the degree of intellectual impairment. To determine the selectivity of cholinergic neuronal loss in the basal forebrain of AD patients, NPY‐immunoreactive neurons were also investigated. The number of NPY‐positive cell bodies was the same in controls and AD patients. The results (1) confirm cholinergic neuron degeneration in the basal forebrain in AD and the relative sparing of these neurons in some patients, (2) indicate that degneration of cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain contributes to intellectual decline, and (3) show that, in AD, such cholinergic cell loss is selective, since NPY‐positive neurons are preserved in the basal forebrain.
AB - Cholinergic neurons were studied by immunohistochemistry, with an antiserum against choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), in the basal forebrain (Ch1 to Ch4) of four patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and four control subjects. ChAT‐positive cell bodies were mapped and counted in Ch1 (medial septal nucleus), Ch2 (vertical nucleus of the diagonal band), Ch3 (horizontal nucleus of the diagonal band) and Ch4 (nucleus basalis of Meynert). Compared to controls, the number of cholinergic neurons in AD patients was reduced by 50% on average. The interindividual variations in cholinergic cell loss were high, neuronal loss ranging from moderate (27%) to severe (63%). Despite the small number of brains studied, a significant correlation was found between the cholinergic cell loss and the degree of intellectual impairment. To determine the selectivity of cholinergic neuronal loss in the basal forebrain of AD patients, NPY‐immunoreactive neurons were also investigated. The number of NPY‐positive cell bodies was the same in controls and AD patients. The results (1) confirm cholinergic neuron degeneration in the basal forebrain in AD and the relative sparing of these neurons in some patients, (2) indicate that degneration of cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain contributes to intellectual decline, and (3) show that, in AD, such cholinergic cell loss is selective, since NPY‐positive neurons are preserved in the basal forebrain.
KW - choline acetyltransferase
KW - immunohistochemistry
KW - neuropeptide Y
KW - nucleus basalis of Meynert
KW - septal area
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U2 - 10.1002/cne.903300103
DO - 10.1002/cne.903300103
M3 - Article
C2 - 8468401
AN - SCOPUS:0027511796
SN - 0021-9967
VL - 330
SP - 15
EP - 31
JO - Journal of Comparative Neurology
JF - Journal of Comparative Neurology
IS - 1
ER -