Table 4.
Clinical summary of the progressive supranuclear palsy, Alzheimer’s disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy and corticobasal degeneration cases studied
| PSP (n = 15) | AD (n = 18) | CTE (n = 5) | CBD (n = 6) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex, male: female | 10:5 | 9:9 | 5:0 | 4:2 |
| Age at death, average ± SD | 74.7 ± 7.8 | 70.1 ± 10.0 | 70.4 ± 18.5 | 70.0 ± 9.6 |
| Duration of illness, years, average ± SD | 8.0 ± 5.0 | 8.3 ± 3.7 | 10.7 ± 12.0 | 9.5 ± 5.9 |
| Symptoms [positive/available number of cases (%)] | ||||
| Eye movement disorder | 13/15 (87) | 3/13 (23)* | 2/5 (40) | 2/4 (50) |
| Supranuclear palsy (oculocephalic manoeuvrea) | 11/11a | 3/3 | 2/2 | 0/1* |
| Bulbar palsy | 14/14 (100) | 2/13 (15)*** | 0/5 (0)** | 2/4 (50) |
| Sensory disturbance in the extremities | 5/15 (33) | 3/11 (27) | 1/5 (20) | 1/3 (33) |
| Motor paralysis in the extremities | 5/14 (36) | 5/13 (38) | 2/5 (40) | 0/2 (0) |
Pick’s disease cases (age range 54–75 years) are not included since clinical information on eye movement disorder or bulbar palsy was not available. The bold indicates symptoms with a high incidence in PSP cases, compared to other tauopathies. AD = Alzheimer’s disease; CBD = corticobasal degeneration; CTE = chronic traumatic encephalopathy; PSP = progressive supranuclear palsy; SD = standard deviation. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.0001 (versus PSP cases, Fisher’s exact test).
aDocumented well before death; the patients’ supranuclear palsy may have evolved to a nuclear palsy late in the course,31 but this was not documented in the records.