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Abbiategrasso Brain Bank Protocol for Collecting, Processing and Characterizing Aging Brains
Published on: June 3, 2020
The Framingham Brain Donation Program: neuropathology along the cognitive continuum.
Rhoda Au1, Sudha Seshadri, Kristen Knox
1Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118, USA.
Current Alzheimer Research
|April 5, 2012
Summary
The Framingham Heart Study
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Neuroscience
- Pathology
Background:
- The Framingham Heart Study has tracked three generations since 1948.
- The Framingham Brain Donation Program collects neurological data and brain tissue.
- Prospective surveillance monitors for stroke and dementia within the cohort.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the accuracy of clinical diagnoses against neuropathological findings for Alzheimer's disease.
- To correlate regional Alzheimer's pathology with cognitive status at death.
- To assess the impact of vascular pathology on cognitive function in older adults.
Main Methods:
- Examined clinical diagnoses versus post-mortem Alzheimer's pathology in 59 individuals.
- Correlated neurofibrillary tangle counts with cognitive status in 34 individuals over 75.
- Assessed vascular pathology and its relation to cognitive impairment in a larger sample.
Main Results:
- Clinical diagnosis showed 77.3% sensitivity and 91.9% specificity for Alzheimer's disease.
- Neurofibrillary tangle counts in the dorsolateral frontal cortex distinguished mild cognitive impairment from controls.
- Higher aggregate ischemic injury scores were found in individuals with a CDR score of 0.5 compared to controls.
Conclusions:
- Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is reasonably accurate but has limitations.
- Specific patterns of Alzheimer's pathology correlate with cognitive decline.
- Vascular pathology significantly contributes to cognitive impairment in older populations.
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