Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 21, 2026

Detection of Neuritic Plaques in Alzheimer's Disease Mouse Model
Published on: July 26, 2011
Relation between neuritic plaques and depressive state in Alzheimer's disease
Gerben Meynen1, Heleen Van Stralen2, Jan H Smit2
11Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an Institute of the KNAW, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Unlabelled:
Meynen G, Van Stralen H, Smit JH, Kamphorst W, Swaab DF, Hoogendijk WJG. Relation between neuritic plaques and depressive state in Alzheimer's disease.
Background:
To investigate for the first time in a prospective study the relationship between depressive state and the neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease, using a scale for depressive symptoms in dementia, while controlling for clinical severity of dementia.
Method:
Within the framework of a prospective longitudinal study of depression in Alzheimer's disease, patients with dementia underwent a clinical evaluation every six months during the last years of their lives, using the Cornell scale for depression in dementia to assess depressive symptoms and using the Functional Assessment Staging scale to control for clinical severity of dementia. The brains of 43 Alzheimer patients were obtained. The last clinical evaluations prior to death together with post-mortem neuropathology measures were analysed.
Results:
We found a correlation between the Cornell scores and the sum score for the density of neuritic plaques in the entire cortex (p = 0.027), and even stronger in the temporal cortex (p = 0.012). The observed correlations were independent of sex, age of death, clinical dementia severity and duration of Alzheimer's disease.
Conclusions:
This study shows a positive relationship between depressive state at time of death and the presence of neuritic plaques in Alzheimer's disease, which is independent of the clinical severity of dementia.
More Related Videos
09:38Generalized Psychophysiological Interaction PPI Analysis of Memory Related Connectivity in Individuals at Genetic Risk for Alzheimer's Disease
Published on: November 14, 2017
10:52Correlative Light and Electron Microscopy to Study Microglial Interactions with β-Amyloid Plaques
Published on: June 1, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Alzheimer Disease ll: Pathophysiology
Alzheimer Disease l: Introduction
Alzheimer's Disease: Overview
The clinical diagnosis of AD hinges on the presence of memory and other cognitive impairments. Biomarkers, such as changes in Aβ...
Dementia l: Introduction
Alzheimer's Disease: Treatment
Neural Regulation