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O2‐04‐01: Stressed astrocytes: A new player in apoE4‐associated Alzheimer's disease
Author(s) -
Weisgraber Karl H.
Publication year - 2009
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.2009.05.343
Subject(s) - astrocyte , apolipoprotein e , neurite , secretion , unfolded protein response , endoplasmic reticulum , microbiology and biotechnology , alzheimer's disease , biology , endocrinology , medicine , chemistry , neuroscience , disease , biochemistry , central nervous system , in vitro
disease neuropathologic findings and cognitive fuunction. The objectives of this study are to evaluate the burden of AD-type pathology on a very-old, cognitively intact sample from a developing country and to investigate the role of few years of education over the constitution of a cognitive reserve on preclinical AD cases. Methods: A post-mortem study evaluating 57 individuals with normal cognition, aged 80 years or older, randomly selected from the Brazilian Aging Brain Study. Cognitive evaluation was performed with a knowledgeable informant using the CDR and the IQCODE combined. All the cases had a CDR1⁄40 and an IQCODE<3.20. Neuropathological examinations were performed using immunohistochemistry. The cases were classified according to the Braak and Braak staging, the CERAD and the NIA-RI criteria. A case was considered as ‘‘preclinical AD’’ if having Braak IV or CERAD was B or C or NIA-RI criteria as intermediate or high likelihood. Age, gender, education, depression and cardiovascular risk factors were compared between the groups. Results: A considerable percentage of subjects fulfilled one or more neuropathologic criteria for ‘‘preclinical AD’’. (29.8%, 31.6% and 19.3%, according to Braak and Braak, CERAD and NIA-RI criteria, respectively). A higher educational level was found significant on the preclinical AD group, according to Braak and Braak staging (2.83 years for Braak III and 4.94 years for Braak IV, P1⁄40.026). Conclusions: A minimum neuropathologic threshold for clinical AD cannot be determined based on current diagnostic criteria. Cognitively normal elderly can frequently harbor disseminate pathology of AD. These individuals probably have a higher cognitive reserve in which educational level may play an important role.