Age-related dendritic and spinal alterations of pyramidal cells of the human visual cortex.

Introduction: Normal aging is characterized by deterioration of visual abilities, affecting mainly visual acuity, contrast and wavelength sensitivity. In the present study we attempted to describe the morphological and morphometric alterations of the dendrites and the dendritic spines of the pyramidal cells of the visual cortex during normal aging, in order to approach the visual impairment of aged individuals from a neuropathological point of view.

Material And Methods: We studied the visual cortex in 20 brains using the Golgi technique.

Dendritic and spinal alterations of neurons from Edinger-Westphal nucleus in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorder, causing a progressive decline of intellectual faculties, impairment of behavior and social performance, and impairment of speech eloquence, associated with various neurological manifestations based on a variable neuropathological background. Edinger-Westphal nucleus is a selective target of Alzheimer pathology early in the course of the disease. We attempted to determine the morphological alterations of the dendrites and the dendritic spines in Edinger-Westphal nucleus of 7 cases that fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's disease.

Dendritic and spinal pathology of the Purkinje cells from the human cerebellar vermis in Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Alzheimer's disease constitutes one of the main causes of dementia. It is clinically characterized by memory impairment, deterioration of intellectual faculties and loss of professional skills. Furthermore changes in equilibrium and limb coordination are clinically demonstrable in persons with Alzheimer's disease.

Dendritic, axonal, and spinal pathology of the Purkinje cells and the neurons of the dentate nucleus after long-term phenytoin administration: a case report.

Phenytoin is a commonly prescribed anticonvulsant drug; however, there is evidence that long-term administration is related to cerebellar ataxia, cerebellar atrophy, loss of Purkinje cells, and hyperplasia of Bergman glia cells. The aim of the present study was to detect and describe any possible alterations of the Purkinje cells, and neurons of the dentate nucleus, as those can be seen with the use of silver impregnation techniques, such as Golgi and Nauta method. The study was performed on a 7-year-old boy who was under phenytoin treatment for more than 3.

Dendritic pathology and spinal loss in the visual cortex in Alzheimer's disease: a Golgi study in pathology.

Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive decline in memory, loss of professional skills, impairment of judgement and behavior, and decline in social performances. In terms of neuropathology, the morphological hallmarks of the disease are the accumulation of alpha-beta peptide and the neurofibrillary degeneration, associated with synaptic alterations, involving mostly the dendritic spines. This study is based on the morphological analysis of 10 brains, 5 of which were obtained from patients who suffered from Alzheimer's disease and 5 from nondemented senile individuals used as control group.

Morphological changes of the human purkinje cells and deposition of neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles on the cerebellar cortex of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by progressive decline in memory and in social performance. The morphological hallmarks of the disease are neuronal loss, loss of dendritic spines, neurofibrillary degeneration and neuritic plaques mainly in the hippocampus and the cortex of the cerebral hemispheres. This study is based on the morphological analysis of the cerebellar cortices of eight brains, 4 patients suffered from Alzheimer's disease and 4 normal controls, by Golgi method, as well as Nissl, Gallyas', Bielschowsky's, Methenamine Silver staining and Congo red methods.