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Corticobasal degeneration: etiopathological significance of the cytoskeletal alterations

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Abstract

We have studied brain tissues from three patients with corticobasal degeneration (CBD) histologically, ultrastructurally and immunohistochemically. Ballooned neurons in the cerebral cortex and severe degeneration of the substantia nigra were observed in them all and weakly basophilic neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) were distributed widely in the basal ganglia and brain stem. Ultrastructural examination demonstrated that the NFTs comprised characteristic 15-nm-wide straight tubules, which showed positive immunohistochemical staining with an antibody against tau, but not ubiquitin. Tau-immunoreactive neuronal cell bodies without NFTs also were found in the cerebral cortex and subcortical nuclei, predominantly in the brain stem, and the greatest number of tau-positive glial inclusions occurred in the cerebral gray and white matter of the pre- and post-central gyri. These inclusions comprised tubular structures with diameters of about 15 nm and were localized in the oligodendroglial cellular cytoplasm and processes. These findings indicate that there is a close cytoskeletal pathological relationship between CBD and progressive supranuclear palsy.

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Author notes

  1. T. Makifuchi

    Present address: Department of Neuropathology, National Saigata Hospital, 949-31, Nakakubiki, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, 1 Asahimachi, 951, Niigata, Japan

    K. Wakabayashi & F. Ikuta

  2. The Center for Materials of Brain Diseases, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, 951, Niigata, Japan

    K. Oyanagi & T. Makifuchi

  3. Department of Neurology, Sado General Hospital, 952-12, Sado, Japan

    A. Homma & Y. Homma

  4. Department of Neurology, Shinrakuen Hospital, 950-21, Niigata, Japan

    Y. Horikawa

  5. Department of Neurology, Ojiya General Hospital, 947, Ojiya, Japan

    S. Tokiguchi

Authors
  1. K. Wakabayashi
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  2. K. Oyanagi
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  4. F. Ikuta
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Wakabayashi, K., Oyanagi, K., Makifuchi, T. et al. Corticobasal degeneration: etiopathological significance of the cytoskeletal alterations. Acta Neuropathol 87, 545–553 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00293314

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00293314

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