National institute on aging-Alzheimer's association guidelines for the neuropathologic assessment of Alzheimer's disease: A practical approach

Thomas J. Montine, Creighton H. Phelps, Thomas G. Beach, Eileen H. Bigio, Nigel J. Cairns, Dennis W. Dickson, Charles Duyckaerts, Matthew P. Frosch, Eliezer Masliah, Suzanne S. Mirra, Peter T. Nelson, Julie A. Schneider, Dietmar Rudolf Thal, John Q. Trojanowski, Harry V. Vinters, Bradley T. Hyman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1147 Scopus citations

Abstract

We present a practical guide for the implementation of recently revised National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer's Association guidelines for the neuropathologic assessment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Major revisions from previous consensus criteria are: (1) recognition that AD neuropathologic changes may occur in the apparent absence of cognitive impairment, (2) an "ABC" score for AD neuropathologic change that incorporates histopathologic assessments of amyloid β deposits (A), staging of neurofibrillary tangles (B), and scoring of neuritic plaques (C), and (3) more detailed approaches for assessing commonly co-morbid conditions such as Lewy body disease, vascular brain injury, hippocampal sclerosis, and TAR DNA binding protein (TDP)-43 immunoreactive inclusions. Recommendations also are made for the minimum sampling of brain, preferred staining methods with acceptable alternatives, reporting of results, and clinico-pathologic correlations.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1-11
Number of pages11
JournalActa neuropathologica
Volume123
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2012

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pathology and Forensic Medicine
  • Clinical Neurology
  • Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

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