Locus coeruleus volume and cell population changes during Alzheimer's disease progression: A stereological study in
Panos Theofilas1, Alexander J Ehrenberg1, Sara Dunlop1
1Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Introduction:
Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression follows a specific spreading pattern, emphasizing the need to characterize those brain areas that degenerate first. The brainstem's locus coeruleus (LC) is the first area to develop neurofibrillary changes (neurofibrillary tangles [NFTs]).
Methods:
The methods include unbiased stereological analyses in human brainstems to estimate LC volume and neuronal population in controls and individuals across all AD stages.
Results:
As the Braak stage increases by 1 unit, the LC volume decreases by 8.4%. Neuronal loss started only midway through AD progression. Age-related changes spare the LC.
Discussion:
The long gap between NFT accumulation and neuronal loss suggests that a second trigger may be necessary to induce neuronal death in AD. Imaging studies should determine whether LC volumetry can replicate the stage-wise atrophy observed here and how these changes are specific to AD. LC volumetry may develop into a screening biomarker for selecting high-yield candidates to undergo expensive and less accessible positron emission tomography scans and to monitor AD progression from presymptomatic stages.
