Blanks J C, Hinton D R, Sadun A A, Miller C A
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles.
Brain Res. 1989 Nov 6;501(2):364-72. doi: 10.1016/0006-8993(89)90653-7.
This study documents the light-microscopic and ultrastructural characteristics of ganglion cell degeneration in the retinas of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The results show degeneration in the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) characterized by a vacuolated, 'frothy' appearance of the cytoplasm. The degeneration is unique in AD because of the absence of neurofibrillary tangles within the RGCs, or of neuritic plaques or amyloid angiopathy in the retinas or optic nerves of any of the cases examined. These results suggest that neuronal degeneration in the ganglion cell layer (GCL) should be added to the constellation of neuropathologic changes found in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
本研究记录了阿尔茨海默病（AD）患者视网膜神经节细胞变性的光镜和超微结构特征。结果显示视网膜神经节细胞（RGCs）发生变性，其特征为细胞质呈空泡状、“泡沫状”外观。这种变性在AD中是独特的，因为在所检查的任何病例的RGCs内均未发现神经原纤维缠结，视网膜或视神经中也未发现神经炎性斑块或淀粉样血管病。这些结果表明，神经节细胞层（GCL）中的神经元变性应被纳入阿尔茨海默病患者所发现的神经病理学变化之中。
