Table 4.
Neuropathological characteristics of brain donors with CTE
| Brain donors with CTE (N = 55) | Brain donors with CTE+ (N = 35) | Brain donors with CTE only (N = 20) | P-valuea | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brain weight | Mean | SD | Mean | SD | Mean | SD | -- |
| Grams | 1255.16 | 161.49 | 1215.60 | 154.66 | 1324.40 | 152.92 | 0.02 |
| Semi-quantitative ratings of p-tau severity, 0–3 scale | Mean | SD | Mean | SD | Mean | SD | -- |
| Dorsolateral frontal cortex | 2.33 | 0.80 | 2.44 | 0.79 | 2.15 | 0.81 | 0.20 |
| Rolandic cortex | 1.58 | 1.12 | 1.67 | 1.14 | 1.45 | 1.10 | 0.50 |
| Inferior frontal cortex | 2.06 | 0.93 | 2.27 | 0.91 | 1.70 | 0.87 | 0.03 |
| Inferior parietal cortex | 1.98 | 1.02 | 2.09 | 1.04 | 1.79 | 0.98 | 0.31 |
| Superior temporal cortex | 2.31 | 0.91 | 2.44 | 0.86 | 2.10 | 0.97 | 0.19 |
| CA1 | 1.96 | 1.05 | 2.11 | 1.05 | 1.70 | 1.03 | 0.16 |
| CA2 | 1.91 | 1.05 | 1.80 | 1.16 | 2.11 | 0.81 | 0.26 |
| CA4 | 1.89 | 1.08 | 1.86 | 1.06 | 1.95 | 1.15 | 0.76 |
| Entorhinal | 2.37 | 0.88 | 2.35 | 0.95 | 2.40 | 0.75 | 0.85 |
| Amygdala | 2.33 | 0.86 | 2.29 | 0.93 | 2.40 | 0.75 | 0.64 |
| Thalamus | 1.85 | 1.01 | 1.82 | 1.03 | 1.89 | 0.99 | 0.81 |
| Substantia nigra | 1.80 | 0.95 | 1.74 | 0.85 | 1.90 | 1.12 | 0.56 |
| Locus coeruleus | 2.25 | 0.76 | 2.18 | 0.81 | 2.35 | 0.67 | 0.44 |
| Dentate nucleus | 0.92 | 0.90 | 0.85 | 0.89 | 1.06 | 0.94 | 0.45 |
| CTE stage | n | % | n | % | n | % | 0.86 |
| Stage I | 2 | 3.8 | 1 | 2.9 | 1 | 5.0 | |
| Stage II | 5 | 9.6 | 4 | 11.4 | 1 | 5.0 | |
| Stage III | 19 | 34.5 | 12 | 34.3 | 7 | 35.0 | |
| Stage IV | 29 | 52.7 | 18 | 51.4 | 11 | 55.0 | |
| Alzheimer’s disease | n | % | n | % | n | % | -- |
| Yes | 15 | 27.3 | 15 | 42.9 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lewy body disease | n | % | n | % | n | % | -- |
| Brain stem predominant | 6 | 10.9 | 6 | 17.1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Limbic (transitional)/neocortical (diffuse) | 11 | 20.0 | 11 | 31.4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) | n | % | n | % | n | % | -- |
| FTLD-tau | 4 | 7.3 | 4 | 12.1 | 0 | 0 | |
| FTLD-TDP-43 | 5 | 9.1 | 5 | 14.3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Motor neuron disease | n | % | n | % | n | % | -- |
| Yes | 3 | 5.4 | 3 | 8.6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Prion disease | n | % | n | % | n | % | -- |
| Yes | 2 | 3.6 | 2 | 5.7 | 0 | 0 | |
| CERAD neuritic plaque score | n | % | n | % | n | % | 0.03 |
| No neuritic plaques | 18 | 32.7 | 7 | 20.0 | 11 | 55.0 | |
| Sparse neuritic plaques | 26 | 47.3 | 18 | 51.4 | 8 | 40.0 | |
| Moderate neuritic plaques | 7 | 12.7 | 6 | 17.1 | 1 | 5.0 | |
| Frequent neuritic plaques | 4 | 7.3 | 4 | 11.4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Thal phase | n | % | n | % | n | % | 0.02 |
| Phase 0 (A0) | 5 | 9.1 | 4 | 11.4 | 1 | 5.0 | |
| Phase 1/2 (A1) | 8 | 14.5 | 2 | 5.7 | 6 | 30.0 | |
| Phase 3 (A2) | 11 | 20.0 | 5 | 14.3 | 6 | 30.0 | |
| Phase 4/5 (A3) | 31 | 56,4 | 24 | 68.6 | 7 | 35.0 | |
| Braak stage | n | % | n | % | n | % | 0.02 |
| Stage 0 | 1 | 1.8 | 1 | 2.9 | 0 | 0 | |
| Stage I/II | 8 | 14.5 | 3 | 8.6 | 5 | 25.0 | |
| Stage III/IV | 27 | 49.1 | 14 | 40.0 | 13 | 65.0 | |
| Stage V/VI | 19 | 34.5 | 17 | 48.6 | 2 | 10.0 | |
| White matter rarefaction | n | % | n | % | n | % | 0.31 |
| Moderate-severe | 35 | 63.6 | 24 | 68.6 | 11 | 55.0 | |
| Arteriolosclerosis | n | % | n | % | n | % | 0.91 |
| Moderate-severe | 38 | 69.1 | 24 | 68.6 | 14 | 70.0 | |
Note. Brain donors with CTE+ included those with CTE and other neurodegenerative disease diagnoses whereas the CTE only group had CTE and no other neurodegenerative disease diagnoses. aIndependent samples t-test compared brain donors with CTE+ and CTE only on all variables for which mean and standard deviations are reported. Chi-square was used to test for group differences for all other variables. Due to missing data, sample sizes include n = 54 for dorsolateral frontal cortex, inferior parietal cortex, superior temporal cortex, CA2, and entorhinal; n = 53 for rolandic cortex, inferior frontal cortex, locus coeruleus, and thalamus; and n = 52 for dentate nucleus