[Alzheimer's disease and Meynert's nucleus basalis. An anatomo- clinical point of view].

The existence of a lesion in the nucleus basalis (NbM), in Alzheimer's disease, which has been brought up again by Whitehouse et al. (1981), is not doubted anymore. The lesion is correlated with the disease's cholinergic deficit. The histology of the lesion isn't much described, and its importance not very clear. This study compares ten cases of Alzheimer's disease, and six cases of "senile dementia". A cellular count and a histologic observation of the NbM are done on slides imbedded in paraffin. The cortex is studied in the classical way. There are neuro-fibrillary tangles "en boules" in the NbM of the two types of dementia, but more frequently in Alzheimer's disease. No senile plaques are observed. The neuronal loss appears much more important in the group of Alzheimer's disease than in the senile dementias. But a typical clinical and histological case of Alzheimer's disease did not show neuronal loss in the NbM. The final results invite to further discussions concerning the present knowledge of Alzheimer's disease and senile dementia.