An autopsy case of atypical senile dementia with atrophy of the temporal lobes--a clinical and histopathological report.

A man aged 70, descendant of an apparently healthy family, showed disorientation, delusional ideas and rages at 66. Later there was slowly advancing deterioration with muteness, disorientation and dysphagia. He died of cardiac failure. There was the diffuse atrophy of the cerebrum, which was remarkably accentuated on both temporal lobes (poles, T2 and T3), where the loss of nerve cells and proliferation of astrocytes were found in the cortex and pallor and conspicuous fibrillary gliosis were noted in the white matter. These findings fundamentally suggest Pick's disease. On the one hand, numerous senile plaques and Alzheimer's neurofibrillary changes, suggestive of Alzheimer's disease (senile dementia), were observed throughout the cerebral cortex. On the other hand, a few inflated cells were also seen in the cingulate, superior frontal gyri and temporal lobes. Basilar artery was moderately atherosclerotic and cerebrovascular disorders were distributed throughout the cerebral cortex and basal ganglia, especially in the field of supply of middle cerebral artery. This case is similar to rare cases reported by Berlin (1949), Neumann (1949) and Oyanagi et al. (1975). The nosological situation as a disease entity remains to be determined.