Laser Microprobe Mass Analyzer (LAMMA) — A New Approach to the Study of the Association of Aluminum and Neurofibrillary Tangle Formation

Abstract

Along with senile plaques, the neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) represents one of the hallmarks of the pathologic changes which characterize Alzheimer’s disease and senile dementia of the Alzheimer’s type. The density of NFTs in the brain at autopsy has been correlated with the presence and severity of dementia during life (Tomlinson et al, 1970). NFTs are not restricted to Alzheimer’s disease, but have been found in association with several other neurologic diseases (Wisniewski et al, 1979), including repeated trauma (Corsellis et al, 1973), viral infections (Mandybur et al, 1976), lead intoxication (Niklowitz and Mandybur, 1975), or hereditary disorders (Hirano et al, 1968). The presence of abundant cortical and subcortical NFTs, unaccompanied by senile plaques, are prominent pathological findings in the brains of patients dying with either amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (Malamud et al, 1961) or parkinsonism-dementia (PD) (Hirano et al, 1961) in the native population living on the island of Guam, where these neurodegenerative diseases have an unsually high incidence. The variety of circumstances under which NFTs are found suggests shared pathogenetic mechanisms, the unraveling of which will certainly contribute to the understanding of Alzheimer’s disease.