Cell loss and nuclear hypertrophy in topographical subdivisions of the nucleus basalis of Meynert in Alzheimer's disease

The nucleus basalis of Meynert was examined in six patients with Alzheimer's disease and five age-matched controls. A cytoarchitectonic study was followed by quantitative analysis of the population of neurons and by the determination of their nuclear area. Confirming previous neuropathological observations in Alzheimer's disease, a neuronal loss of 43% in the anterior, 25% in the intermediate and 30.5% in the posterior subdivisions of the nucleus basalis of Meynert was observed. Numerous surviving cells showed neurofibrillary tangles. In addition, we found that the nuclear area of the remaining nucleus basalis of Meynert neurons was significantly increased in all three subdivisions by at least 16%. The combined observation of cell loss and nuclear hypertrophy suggests that both regenerative and degenerative changes co-exist in the nucleus basalis in Alzheimer's disease.