Endothelial mitochondrial content of cerebral cortical capillaries in Alzheimer's disease. An ultrastructural quantitative study.

The mitochondrial content of endothelial cells of cerebral cortical capillaries in patients with Alzheimer's disease and age-matched controls was calculated using stereologic methods. No morphologic abnormalities or quantitative changes in endothelial mitochondria are reported. Our findings do not support the hypothesis of a blood-brain barrier defect in Alzheimer's disease.