Morphological Changes of Somatostation Immunoreactive Neurons in Senile Dementia of Alzheimer Type

J Korean Neurol Assoc > Volume 9(2); 1991 > Article

Journal of the Korean Neurological Association 1991;9(2): 157-170.

알쯔하이머형 노인성 치매에서의 Somatostatin 면역조직화학반응양성 신경원의 형태학적 변화

조기현, 김세종,김백윤

전남대학교 신경과, 해부학.

Morphological Changes of Somatostation Immunoreactive Neurons in Senile Dementia of Alzheimer Type

Ki Hyun Cho, M.D., Ph.D., Sei Jong Kim, M.D., Ph.D. Baik Yoon Kim, M.D., Ph.D.*

Dep. Of Neurology & Anatomy, Chonnam University*

Abstract

Five brains from established cases of Senile Dementia of Alzheimer Type (SDAT) and six branis from cases of no clinical or neuropathological evidences of SDAT were studied immunocytochemically using anti-somatostatin (SST) antibody. Fifty micrometer sections of immersion fixed brains (autopsy delay: 10-16 hours) were cut and then stored in 0.1 M tris-HCI buffer (pH7.4) until the immunocytochemical study. Lmmunostatinings were performed according to Sternberger's peroxidase-antiperoxidase (PAP) technique. The primary antiserum was rabbit antiserum to synthetic somatostatin (Cambridge Research Biochemicals). Diluted to 1: 1.000. The secondary antiserum was goat anti-rabbit IgG (Sternbeger-Meyer) in dilutions of 1: 400 to 500. Controls followed complete staining protocol. But without incubation in the specific antibody. SST-immunoreactive (IR) neurons in aged normal brains were distributed in all layers of cortices. These cells were multipolar, bitufted, or wramidal in shape. The changes of SST-IR neurons were profound in frontal, parietal, and temporal cortices of SDAT brains, but were absent in the Cal of hippocampus. Neuritic plaque-like structure formation was the most common changes seen in the cortices, especially in the temporal cortex. The morphology of altered SST-IR neuronal elements were similar to that of the neuritic plaques demonstrated by the Bielshowsky's silver impregnation method. Apparently intact SST-IR neurons were also found in SDAT brains, thus giving rise to the specu@ation that these neurons may have unusual survival and reorganization