Morphometric study on the CH4 of the nucleus basalis of meynert in Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Ch4 neurons were studied morphometrically in three normal controls and three patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Two series of preparations stained with cresyl violet and with the indirect immunoperoxidase method using a monoclonal antibody to acetylcholinesterase (AChE) counterstained with cresyl violet were morphometrically analyzed. The cholinergic neurons were identified as positive reaction products of AChE in the perikarya. The cross-sectional area of all the Ch4 neurons with clearly visible nucleoli in one preparation was measured using a computer imaging system. Evaluation of these data provided a mean value of the cross-sectional neuronal area (CNA), number of neurons, standard deviation of the CNA and coefficient of variation of the cholinergic and noncholinergic neurons. The cholinergic neurons were decreased in number but showed hypertrophy in the early stage of AD, and they gradually became atrophic in the advanced stage. The noncholinergic neurons showed only atrophy without definite neuronal cell depletion. These findings indicate that cholinergic neurons have a plasticity and remodeling property against the AD process and suggest that hypertrophy of the cholinergic neurons in the Ch4 is the result of the effect of neurotrophic factors. © 1991 Humana Press Inc.