A method for the relative quantification of lipofuscin based on a computer image analysis system

The accumulation of lipofuscin in neurons is the best recognized microscopic alteration of the aging brain. The broad spectrum which characterizes this progressive accumulation of pigment has made necessary the use of quantitative methods for its assessment. Present day techniques for the quantitation of lipofuscin (e.g. fluorescent microspectrophotometry and planimetry) are cumbersome, rely on manual techniques and may be limited by fluorescent artifacts. In this article we report a computer image analysis method for the relative quantification of lipofuscin in slides stained with a modified aldehyde fuchsin stain. The method preserves the topography of the pigment, is not limited by artifacts due to fluorescence, and has excellent inter-rater reliability.