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Pathologic changes in olfactory neurons in Alzheimer's disease.
B R Talamo1, W H Feng, M Perez-Cruet
1Neurosciences Division, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
|January 1, 1991
Summary
Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients show olfactory neuron degeneration in the nasal epithelium, mirroring brain pathology. Aged monkeys, however, do not exhibit these specific neuritic abnormalities, questioning their model relevance for AD.
Area of Science:
- Neuropathology
- Neuroscience
- Gerontology
Background:
- Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by olfactory deficits and central nervous system degeneration.
- Peripheral olfactory pathways are hypothesized to exhibit similar pathological changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate degenerative changes in peripheral olfactory neurons in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients.
- To evaluate the utility of aged rhesus monkeys as a model for AD-related olfactory pathology.
Main Methods:
- Immunohistochemical analysis of nasal autopsy tissue from AD patients and non-demented individuals.
- Examination of olfactory epithelium in aged rhesus monkeys, including those with behavioral deficits.
Main Results:
- Extensive degeneration and abnormal neurites, sharing epitopes with AD brain pathology (neurofibrillary tangles, dystrophic neurites), were found in 81% of AD patients' nasal epithelium.
- Similar ectopic neurites were observed in 22% of non-demented individuals, with no age-linked association found.
- Aged rhesus monkeys, despite exhibiting amyloid accumulations, did not show abnormal olfactory structures, indicating they are not a suitable model for these AD-related neuritic abnormalities.
Conclusions:
- Peripheral olfactory neurons in AD patients display pathological changes analogous to those in the AD brain.
- The presence of similar abnormalities in non-demented individuals suggests potential early or alternative pathological processes.
- Aged rhesus monkeys are not an appropriate model for studying the specific neuritic abnormalities of Alzheimer's disease in the olfactory system.