Stable vasopressin innervation in the degenerating human locus coeruleus in Alzheimer's disease.

The vasopressin (VP) innervation of the human locus coeruleus (LC) was immunocytochemically investigated in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and non-demented controls. A dense innervation of VP fibers was present throughout the entire rostro-caudal length of the LC in both, controls and AD-patients. The VP immunoreactivity was confined to fibers; no signs of cell body staining could be found. Comparison of five non-demented control subjects and five AD patients on fifteen different levels throughout the LC revealed that the VP innervation of this nucleus remained intact in AD, even in the rostral part of the LC, which is the most affected region with respect to neuronal loss.