Autosomal dominant arteriopathic leuko-encephalopathy and Alzheimer's disease

A 49-year-old man suffered from progressive dementia and seizures leading to death after 2 years. CT scans showed severe cortical-subcortical atrophy and hypodensity of the white matter. His father had died at about the same age with similar clinical signs. Two sisters and one brother were also affected. Neuropathological study revealed predominant involvement of the cerebral white matter with myelin loss, gliosis and type I lacunes. The small arteries and arterioles of the white matter and basal ganglia, and, to a lesser extent those of the subarachnoidal space, displayed fibrosis and replacement of the media by an eosinophilic, PAS positive, Congo Red negative, granular substance. Electron microscopy showed swollen myocytes surrounded by collagen, elastin and a compact electron-dense material. Immunofluorescence using antibodies against IgA, IgG, IgM, C1q and C3 stained the abnormal media weakly. In the cortex, there were diffuse senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated beta/A4 positive material in cortical senile plaques but not in arterial walls. Adventitial macrophages were, however, immunoreactive for gamma-trace. Systemic arterioles were normal. The vascular changes and leukoencephalopathy are comparable to those described in 'Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy with Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy' (CADASIL). Similar vascular changes were also observed in nonfamilial cases. An association with Alzheimer changes in the cortex has not been described previously. The relationship between both diseases and the role of each in the causation of the dementia is unclear.