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Updated: Jul 11, 2026
08:29
Symmetric Bihemispheric Postmortem Brain Cutting to Study Healthy and Pathological Brain Conditions in Humans
Published on: December 18, 2016
The brain diseases causing senile dementia. A morphological study on 54 consecutive autopsy cases
Journal of Neurology
|April 1, 1986
Summary
This study examined 54 dementia brains, finding Alzheimer
Area of Science:
- Neuropathology
- Neurodegenerative Diseases
- Geriatric Medicine
Background:
- Organic dementia presents a significant challenge in clinical diagnosis and neuropathological assessment.
- Previous research indicates a high prevalence of Alzheimer-type changes in dementia cases.
- The role of Lewy bodies and parkinsonian-type lesions in dementia etiology requires further clarification.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically examine the brains of patients with organic dementia.
- To identify the neuropathological substrates associated with dementia.
- To investigate the contribution of Alzheimer-type changes and Lewy bodies to dementia.
Main Methods:
- Systematic neuropathological examination of 54 brains from patients diagnosed with organic dementia.
- Assessment for Alzheimer-type changes, Lewy bodies, and parkinsonian-type lesions.
- Correlation of neuropathological findings with clinical dementia diagnosis.
Main Results:
- A predominance of Alzheimer-type changes was observed, consistent with prior studies.
- Seventeen patients exhibited Lewy bodies in key brain regions (nucleus basalis, substantia nigra, locus coeruleus) and parkinsonian-type lesions.
- In 5 cases, these Lewy body-related changes were considered the primary cause of dementia; in 8 cases, no clear morphological cause was identified, suggesting age as a potential factor.
Conclusions:
- Alzheimer-type changes are prevalent in organic dementia.
- Lewy body disease and parkinsonian-type lesions can contribute significantly to dementia, particularly in specific patient subgroups.
- Assessing the cause of dementia involves inherent subjective judgments, and advanced age may independently contribute to cognitive decline.
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