Identification of neuronal programmed cell death in situ in the striatum of normal adult rat brain and its relationship to neuronal death during aging.

Apoptotic neurons have been identified in normal adult rat striatum by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling technique. This observation suggests that neuronal programmed cell death starts at an early stage of adult life and may contribute to the aging associated neuronal loss. In addition, the frequency of apoptotic cells was found to significantly increase in old rats, which implies that aging itself accelerates the process.