[A comparative study of six different staining methods on neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques]

Six different staining methods were evaluated for demonstrating SPs and NFTs by using serial sections of brain tissue collected from aged patients with or without senile dementia. The methods used were as follows: the Bodian, Modified Beilschowsky, Periodic acid methenamine silver (PAMS), New methenamine silver (MS), PAS and Congo Red. SPs and NFTs were demonstrated in the cerebral cortex of aged patients with or without dementia. Among these 6 methods Bodian gives a more reliable result in demonstrating tangles and plaques of the classic and primitive types but not the diffuse type. The MS method clearly demonstrated all the 3 types of SPs particularly the diffuse plaque, but could not show the NFTs. The result indicates that combination of Bodian and MS methods seemed to be the most reliable method for routine neuropathological investigation.