Lipopigment Changes in Purkinje Cells in Alzheimer's Disease.

Cerebellar tissue was examined from 22 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and from an age-matched group of 20 non-diseased subjects. Intraneuronal lipopigment in the bodies of 1344 Purkinje cells (PCs) (32 per brain) was identified by fluorescence microscopy. The mean total area (per PC) of the outlines of discrete regions of lipopigment in a PC perikaryon for the AD-related group of PCs was significantly greater than the mean for the comparison group (p<0.001). Also, the two groups of PCs showed significant (</=0.05) differences in the mean number (per PC) of discrete regions of lipopigment in 11 size categories. The findings indicate a lysosomal abnormality in PCs in AD. The pattern of size distribution of lipopigment in PCs differed from that previously-reported for neurons of the frontal cortex. These differences may be associated with the absence of senile plaques and the presence of "diffuse" amyloid plaques in the cerebellum in AD