Preamyloid deposits in the cerebral cortex of patients with Alzheimer's disease and nondemented individuals.

A polyclonal antibody to a 28 residue synthetic peptide, homologous to the NH2 terminal region of amyloid beta-protein, was employed in a study of the frontal and temporal cortex of 8 Alzheimer patients and 13 non-demented individuals aimed to define the relationship of immunolabelled to argyrophilic, congophilic and thioflavine S-positive cortical lesions. In Alzheimer patients, this antiserum labelled not only senile plaques and congophilic angiopathy, but also cortical deposits that were neither argyrophilic, congophilic nor thioflavine S-positive and were unrelated to degenerating neurites, tangle-bearing neurons or congophilic angiopathy. Similar lesions were observed in 4 of 13 non-demented individuals, in the absence of tangles, plaques or congophilic angiopathy, and in one in association with plaques. Such deposits might have been due to amyloid precursors still lacking the beta-pleated sheet molecular conformation responsible for amyloid tinctorial and optical properties.