Retinal pathology in Alzheimer's disease. I. Ganglion cell loss in foveal/parafoveal retina

doi:10.1016/0197-4580(96)00010-3

Neurobiology of Aging

Volume 17, Issue 3, May–June 1996, Pages 377-384

https://doi.org/10.1016/0197-4580(96)00010-3 Get rights and content

Abstract

Morphometric analysis of the numbers of neurons in the ganglion cell layer (GCL) of the central retina (fovea/foveola/parafoveal retina) in eyes from 9 Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 11 age-matched control cases revealed an overall decrease of 25% in total numbers of neurons in AD as compared with control eyes. Detailed analyses of GCL neurons at various eccentricities from the foveola showed that the greatest decrease in neuronal density (43% decrease) occurred in the central 0 – 0.5 mm (foveal region), while at 0.5 – 1 mm and at 1 – 1.5 mm eccentricities, neuronal loss amounted to 24 and 26%, respectively. The temporal region of the central retina appeared most severely affected, with up to 52% decrease in neuronal density near the foveola (central 0 – 0.5 mm eccentricity). There was close agreement between fellow eyes analyzed separately for three AD and three control cases. Analysis of neuronal sizes showed that all sizes of neurons were similarly affected in AD. In the GCL of control retinas, neurons decreased with age (coefficient of correlation = −0.67), while in AD retinas no such relationship was evident. Since in the central 0 – 2 mm region of the retina 97% of neurons in the GCL are ganglion cells (while the remaining 3% consist of displaced amacrine cells), these results demonstrate extensive ganglion cell loss in the central retina in AD.

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ArticleRetinal pathology in Alzheimer's disease. I. Ganglion cell loss in foveal/parafoveal retina

Abstract

Am. J. Ophthalmol.

Brain Res.

Am. J. Ophthalmol.

Neurobiol. Aging

Vision Res.

J. Psychiatr. Res.

Surv. Ophthalmol.

Neurobiol. Aging

Ophthalmology

Ophthalmology

Neuroscience

Ophthalmology

Ophthalmology

Estimation of nuclear population from microtome sections

Anat. Rec.

A program to compute the sizes and numbers of spherical bodies from observations made on tissue sections

J. Neurocytol.

Retinal ganglion cell degeneration in Alzheimer's disease

Soc. Neurosci. Abstr.

Retinal degeneration in the macula of patients with Alzheimer's disease

Ann. NY Acad. Sci.

Topography of ganglion cells in human retina

J. Comp. Neurol.

Retinal ganglion cells in Alzheimer's disease and aging

Ann. Neurol.

Computer-assisted morphometry using video-mixed microscopic images and computer graphics

Anat. Rec.

Aging of the optic nerve

Arch. Ophthalmol.

Prevalence of Alzheimer's disease in a community population of older persons: Higher than previously reported

JAMA

Aging of the human retina: Differential loss of neurons and retinal pigment epithelial cells

Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci.

Size and distribution of ganglion cells in the human retina

Anat. Embryol. (Berl.)

Article
Retinal pathology in Alzheimer's disease. I. Ganglion cell loss in foveal/parafoveal retina