Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - A demonstration of the advantages of immunostaining in the quantification of amyloid plaque deposits
AU - Gentleman, S M
AU - Bruton, C
AU - Allsop, D
AU - Lewis, S J
AU - Polak, J M
AU - Roberts, G W
PY - 1989
Y1 - 1989
N2 - Extracellular amyloid deposits are a feature of both Alzheimer type dementia and the 'normal' aging process. Quantification of amyloid plaque deposits may well be useful in distinguishing between the senescent changes associated with 'normal' aging and the pathological processes underlying dementia. To determine the most reliable and reproducible method for visualisation of the amyloid we have compared conventional silver staining techniques with beta-amyloid immunocytochemistry on a large sample of post-mortem brain tissue from both demented (n = 15, age range 60-87) and non-demented (n = 65, age range 14-99) patients. The degree of amyloid deposition was rated on a four point scale and ratings for the two techniques were significantly correlated (P less than 0.01). However, the immunocytochemical approach has a number of distinct advantages for quantification. The antibody to beta-amyloid is highly specific and does not stain neurofibrillary tangles or background features, it is considerably more sensitive than silver staining in highlighting diffuse amyloid deposits and, perhaps most importantly, it produces high contrast staining which allows easier image digitisation and subsequent computer image analysis.
AB - Extracellular amyloid deposits are a feature of both Alzheimer type dementia and the 'normal' aging process. Quantification of amyloid plaque deposits may well be useful in distinguishing between the senescent changes associated with 'normal' aging and the pathological processes underlying dementia. To determine the most reliable and reproducible method for visualisation of the amyloid we have compared conventional silver staining techniques with beta-amyloid immunocytochemistry on a large sample of post-mortem brain tissue from both demented (n = 15, age range 60-87) and non-demented (n = 65, age range 14-99) patients. The degree of amyloid deposition was rated on a four point scale and ratings for the two techniques were significantly correlated (P less than 0.01). However, the immunocytochemical approach has a number of distinct advantages for quantification. The antibody to beta-amyloid is highly specific and does not stain neurofibrillary tangles or background features, it is considerably more sensitive than silver staining in highlighting diffuse amyloid deposits and, perhaps most importantly, it produces high contrast staining which allows easier image digitisation and subsequent computer image analysis.
KW - Adolescent
KW - Adult
KW - Aged
KW - Aged, 80 and over
KW - Alzheimer Disease
KW - Amyloid
KW - Brain
KW - Brain Chemistry
KW - Humans
KW - Immunohistochemistry
KW - Middle Aged
KW - Silver
KW - Staining and Labeling
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 2478507
VL - 92
SP - 355
EP - 358
JO - Histochemistry
JF - Histochemistry
IS - 4
ER -