Snow A D, Mar H, Nochlin D, Wight T N
Department of Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle 98195.
Prog Clin Biol Res. 1989;317:383-91.
Neuritic plaques (NPs), neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and congophilic angiopathy (CA), the three characteristic lesions in Alzheimer's disease, are easily detected in paraffin sections using light microscopy and specific staining methods including Congo red and Thioflavin S. Identification of these lesions in plastic thick sections (1 micron) is more tedious and relies essentially on morphological criteria. This causes investigators to subsequently analyze large numbers of thin sections under the electron microscope. Since many researchers use electron microscopy for various aspects of Alzheimer's disease and related research, it would be advantageous to have a rapid method enabling the investigator to quickly and reliably identify in thick sections the characteristic NPs, NFTs and/or CA, which can then be used for further analysis at the ultrastructural level. In this context, the present study describes a dependable technique for identifying NPs, NFTs and/or CA in Alzheimer's disease and related disorders and involves Congo red staining on one micron sections after plastic removal.
神经炎性斑块（NPs）、神经原纤维缠结（NFTs）和嗜刚果红血管病（CA）是阿尔茨海默病的三种特征性病变，使用光学显微镜和包括刚果红及硫黄素S在内的特定染色方法，在石蜡切片中很容易检测到。在塑料厚切片（1微米）中识别这些病变更为繁琐，且基本上依赖形态学标准。这使得研究人员随后要在电子显微镜下分析大量薄切片。由于许多研究人员在阿尔茨海默病及相关研究的各个方面都使用电子显微镜，因此若有一种快速方法能让研究人员在厚切片中快速且可靠地识别特征性的NPs、NFTs和/或CA，进而用于超微结构水平的进一步分析，将是很有优势的。在此背景下，本研究描述了一种用于识别阿尔茨海默病及相关疾病中NPs、NFTs和/或CA的可靠技术，该技术包括在去除塑料后对1微米切片进行刚果红染色。
