C A Jengeleski | PubMed Health

PubMed1989

Noradrenergic innervation of human pineal gland: abnormalities in aging and Alzheimer's disease.

Using previously characterized polyclonal antibody directed against dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH), immunoreactive fibers were demonstrable in pineals of 6 controls of various ages and of 3 individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Abnormal, swollen axons were present in pineals from aged individuals and from individuals with AD. The pathology of noradrenergic axons in a structure innervated by the superior cervical ganglion suggests that peripheral noradrenergic systems may be affected in aging and in AD.

Adrenergic Fibers↗

PubMed1989

A method for the relative quantification of lipofuscin based on a computer image analysis system.

The accumulation of lipofuscin in neurons is the best recognized microscopic alteration of the aging brain. The broad spectrum which characterizes this progressive accumulation of pigment has made necessary the use of quantitative methods for its assessment. Present day techniques for the quantitation of lipofuscin (e.g. fluorescent microspectrophotometry and planimetry) are cumbersome, rely on manual techniques and may be limited by fluorescent artifacts. In this article we report a computer image analysis method for the relative quantification of lipofuscin in slides stained with a modified aldehyde fuchsin stain. The method preserves the topography of the pigment, is not limited by artifacts due to fluorescence, and has excellent inter-rater reliability.

Brain↗