TitleMemory and mental status correlates of modified Braak staging.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication1999
AuthorsGrober, E, Dickson, D, Sliwinski, MJ, Buschke, H, Katz, M, Crystal, H, Lipton, RB
JournalNeurobiol Aging
Volume20
Issue6
Pagination573-9
Date Published1999 Nov-Dec
ISSN0197-4580
KeywordsAged, Aged, 80 and over, Alzheimer Disease, Analysis of Variance, Female, Humans, Male, Memory, Neuropsychological Tests
Abstract

<p>We assessed the relationships of performance on memory and mental status tests and neuropathologic stage of Alzheimer's disease as defined by Braak and Braak in 29 patients from a prospective clinicopathologic series. We predicted that memory changes would occur at an earlier Braak stage than mental status changes. Staging was accomplished by matching the topographic distribution of neurofibrillary lesions detected with tau immunocytochemistry to the best fitting diagram published by Braak and Braak. Higher Braak stages were associated with decrements in performance on both memory and mental status tests. As predicted, memory performance declined from stages II to III and mental status did not decline until stages III to IV. The association between memory and Braak stage was unchanged after adjusting for neocortical senile plaques, whereas adjustments for Braak stage eliminated the association between cognitive functioning and amyloid burden. We conclude that Braak staging provides a useful summary of Alzheimer's disease neuropathology, which is associated with both memory and mental status performance.</p>

DOI10.1016/s0197-4580(99)00063-9
Alternate JournalNeurobiol Aging
PubMed ID10674422
Grant ListAG03949 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States