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P1‐379: In vivo detection of Alzheimer's disease‐linked Aβ peptide accumulation in the lens
Author(s) -
Moncaster Juliet A.,
Moir Robert D.,
Mocofanescu Anca G.,
Burton Mark A.,
Ghosh Joy,
Ericsson Maria,
Rogers Jack T.,
Klunk William E.,
Mathis Chester A.,
Sadowski Martin,
Wisniewski Thomas,
Clark John I.,
Tanzi Rudolph E.,
Goldstein Lee E.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2008.05.961
Subject(s) - in vivo , medicine , pathology , cataracts , lens (geology) , amyloid (mycology) , genetically modified mouse , neuroscience , transgene , biology , ophthalmology , gene , paleontology , biochemistry , microbiology and biotechnology
sistence of atypical cystic and granular forms of Treponema pallidum. We investigated whether a similar situation may occur in Lyme neuroborreliosis. Methods: We characterized abnormal spirochetal forms in vitro and in vivo by histochemical, immunohistochemical dark field and atomic force microscopic methods. We also observed nuclear fragmentation using the TUNEL method. Results: We observed atypical cystic, rolled and granular Borrelia forms following infection of primary chicken and rat neurons, as well as rat and human astrocytes in vitro. We then found that these abnormal forms were present in the autopsied brains of three Alzheimer patients who had pathologically and serologically confirmed Lyme neuroborreliosis. We also report the history of a 62-years-old female patient with Alzheimer’s type cognitive decline, elevated CSF tau, Apo-E4 genotype and concurrent Lyme disease. Complete recovery of the cognitive decline occurred following antibiotic treatment. Conclusions: The results indicate that atypical extraand intracellular cystic forms of Borrelia burgdorferi occur in the brain in patients with concurrent AD and chronic Lyme neuroborreliosis and also that Borrelia burgdorferi can induce cellular dysfunction and cell death. The recovery of cognitive decline in the patient with Lyme disease and AD-type dementia following antibiotic treatment suggests that in an analogous way to Treponema pallidum, Borrelia burgdorferi can cause dementia which may be prevented or slow down by antibiotic treatment.