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Research article| Volume 119, ISSUE 1, P110-118, October 1993

Frequency analysis of catecholamine axonal morphology in human brain

II. Alzheimer's disease and hippocampal sympathetic ingrowth
  • Rosemarie M. Booze
    Correspondence
    Correspondence to: Rosemarie M. Booze, Ph.D., Department of Pharmacology, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, MS-305 UKMC, Lexington, KY 40536-0084, USA. Tel.: (606) 233-6507; Fax: (606) 258-1981.
    Affiliations
    Department of Pharmacology and College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington, KY 40536-0084, USA
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  • Charles F. Mactutus
    Affiliations
    Department of Pharmacology and College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington, KY 40536-0084, USA
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  • Catherine R. Gutman
    Affiliations
    Department of Medicine (Neurology), Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27705, USA

    Department of Pharmacology, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27705, USA
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  • James N. Davis
    Affiliations
    Department of Medicine (Neurology), Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27705, USA

    Department of Pharmacology, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27705, USA
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DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-510X(93)90198-8
Frequency analysis of catecholamine axonal morphology in human brain
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      Abstract

      We have examined the various diverse morphologies of catecholamine axons in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease and aged control brain tissue were obtained by a rapid autopsy protocol (mean postmortem delay < 1 h). Tissue blocks from the superior frontal cortex (Brodmann area 9), the hippocampal gyrus, and the calcarine cortex (Brodmann area 17) were processed for identification of catecholamine axons using tyrosine hydroxylase immunocytochemistry. A total of 1275 tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive axons were randomly sampled from coded sections and classified into one of six distinct axon-type categories. The axon classification from patients with Alzheimer's disease significantly differed from those of an age-matched control population in the hippocampus. The Alzheimer's disease brains were decreased in the frequency of very long, thin, tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive axons (type 1) and had an increased frequency of shorter, tortuous, axons (type 3). These selective quantitative shifts in hippocampal catecholaminergic axon morphology are consistent with the hypothesis that sympathetic noradrenergic axons invade the hippocampus of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Multivariate modeling of the frequency sampling data found that the axon type classification scheme successfully predicted the presence of Alzheimer's disease. In particular, the use of quantitative neuroanatomical measures of the catecholaminergic system in human brain tissue was found to have errorless predictive ability with respect to late onset (> 75 years) Alzheimer's disease. In summary, the use of quantitative neuroanatomical measures of catecholamine axonal morphologies in Alzheimer's disease brain tissue identified a specific frequency shift which may represent hippocampal sympathetic ingrowth and this unique measure was found to have predictive utility with respect to Alzheimer's disease.

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      Article info

      Publication history

      Accepted: April 18, 1993
      Received in revised form: April 13, 1993
      Received: October 15, 1992

      Identification

      DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-510X(93)90198-8

      Copyright

      © 1993 Published by Elsevier Inc.

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