Nuclear inclusions in Alzheimer's disease

Biopsy samples of parietal cortex from seven patients undergoing atrio-ventricular shunt operations have been examined electron microscopically. Five were suffering from Alzheimer's disease, while two were subjects with normotensive hydrocephalus following previous head injuries. Intranuclear neuronal, inclusions of three types were found. Most frequent was the intranuclear rodlet, which was commonly observed in four of the patients with Alzheimer's disease, but in one block only from one of the hydrocephalus cases. The other two types, namely the spherical inclusion body and the vermicellar-like inclusion, were found less commonly and in only two cases. No inclusions were seen in glial nuclei.