Age-related accumulation of congophilic fibrillar inclusions in endocrine cells

Intracellular fibrillar congophilic inclusions are well known as neurofibrillary tangles in neurons and as Biondi bodies in choroid plexus epithelial cells. Recently similar amyloid-like inclusions in adrenal cortical cells were described (Eriksson and Westermark 1990). This study on 150 adrenal glands confirms these observations. In our material the age-related accumulation of congophilic inclusions starts earlier (in the sixth decade) and reaches a higher incidence (42.7%). We found similar intracellular inclusions in other endocrine organs, for example in the anterior lobe of the pituitary, in the cells of parathyroid glands and in Sertoli cells. The age-related incidence of these fibrillar inclusions in the pituitary was 68%: the co-incidence with interstitial amyloid deposits was 49.5%. Thus the intracellular accumulation of congophilic fibrils in old age is a wide-spread phenomenon and occurs not only in neurons but also in endocrine cells (adrenal, pituitary and parathyroid glands) and in active secretory cells (choroid plexus and Sertoli cells).