Pathological Features Of Argyrophilic Grains In Amygdaloid Nuclei Of Aging Brain

Objective To study the pathological features of argyrophilic grains in normal aging brain, AD, PD and progressive superior nuclear paralysis patients. Methods Brain tissue samples taken from 5 AD, 3 PD, 2 progressive superior nuclear paralysis patients with complete clinico-pathological data and 4 normal aging brain subjects were stained with HE, Luxol fast blue and Gallyas-Braak silver respectively. Aβ, tau, α-synuclein and P62 antibodies were detected by microscopy with immunohistochemical staining. The pathological features of argyrophilic grains were recorded. Results The Gallyas-Braak silver staining showed argyrophilic grain structure in 4 out of the 14 amygdaloid nucleus tissue samples (2 from AD patients, 1 from progressive superior nuclear paralysis patients and 1 from normal aging brain patients) with a positive rate of 28.6％. The immunohistochemical staining showed positive tau and P62 antibodies. Conclusion Argyrophilic grain lesion is not uncommon in aging-related neurodegenerative diseases such as normal aging brain, AD and progressive superior nuclear paralysis and can thus produce its superposition effect on the clinical symptoms of cognitive impairment in AD and progressive superior nuclear paralysis patients.