PROGRESSIVE TRANSFORMATION OF THE CYTOSKELETON ASSOCIATED WITH NORMAL AGING AND ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE

Transitional and end-stage forms of neurofibrillary tangles associated with normal aging and Alzheimer's disease were identified using thioflavine staining combined with tau and neurofilament protein immunofluorescence. Normal aging was marked by transitional pathology in layer II of the entorhinal cortex but no neurofibrillary tangles in prefrontal cortex, whereas, in Alzheimer's disease cases, layer II entorhinal neurons had progressed to end-stage neurofibrillary tangles and the prefrontal cortex contained a high representation of transitional forms of the neurofibrillary tangle.