Corticonigral degeneration with neuronal achromasia and basal neurofibrillary tangles.

A man, aged 58 years, suffered from progressive dementia, parkinsonism, and gaze paralysis for 30 months. Autopsy revealed severe degeneration of the substantia nigra, numerous swollen chromatolytic neurons within the cerebral cortex, scattered basal neurofibrillary tangles, and gliosis of the cerebral white matter and basal ganglia. Unusual globular inclusions positive for tau protein were detected within neurons of the upper cortical layers. Although the pathological findings were comparable with corticonigral degeneration with neuronal achromasia, several clinical and pathological features characteristic for progressive supranuclear palsy, progressive subcortical gliosis, and Pick's disease in this and the nine previously reported cases hampered the unequivocal nosological placement.