[Pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease].

The 160 and 200 Kd phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated neurofilament monoclonal antibodies were used as the probe to study the cytoskeletal protein distribution inside cerebral neurons of 2 normal adults and 2 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Immunocytochemical technique was applied in this study. Non-phosphorylated neurofilament was located in the perikarua, whereas, the phosphorylated neurofilament was rich in the peripheral of the neuron's cell body and axons in the normal adult brain. In AD, no significant difference was seen when non-phosphorylated neurofilament was compared with normal adult brain; but phosphorylated neurofilament was seen accumulated inside the neuron's cell bodies. We did not find any immunoreactivity of the above cytoskeletal proteins in the senile plaques. These results indicate that the accumulation of high molecular weight phosphorylated neurofilament inside the neuron's cell bodies is the early pathogenetic change of AD.