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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Feb 5.
Published in final edited form as: Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2011 Dec;1243:15–29. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06274.x

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Neuropathology of AD. Images from hematoxylin- and eosin-stained histologic sections (400× magnification) from affected human AD brain show: (A) granulovacuolar degeneration (arrowheads), (B) intracellular neurofibrillary tangles, and (C) waxy extracellular amyloid plaques. As neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques are relatively subtle using routine stains, histologic diagnosis of AD is aided by using dyes that bind to amyloid structures or with antibodies specific for tau or Aβ(D) Thioflavin S staining (fluorescent green color, 100× magnification) of human AD necortex shows abundant extracellular amyloid plaques (arrows) and intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles (arrowheads). Higher-power images (400× magnification) show (E) a neurofibrillary tangle and (F) an amyloid plaque. (G) Neurofibrillary tangles (arrows, 100×) are stained with antibodies that recognize phosphorylated tau protein epitopes. Note also the presence of clusters of phospho-tau immunoreactivity (circles) that label dystrophic neurites in association with amyloid plaques. (H) Amyloid plaques form in transgenic mouse overexpressing mutant APP that can be labeled with antibodies against Aβ (400× magnification).