Microvascular changes in Down syndrome with Alzheimer's-type pathology: Insights into a potential vascular mechanism for Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease

We examined brain microvasculature in five DS subjects with AD-type histopathology, seven AD cases, and seven controls without AD-type pathology. We counted microvessels in five anatomic regions and assessed endothelial integrity by CD31 immunohistochemistry. Results Microvascular numbers and endothelial integrity were significantly diminished in DS brains compared with controls and were similar to AD brains. Discussion People with DS and trisomy 21 produce a large amount of Aβ. If Alzheimer's pathology occurred in DS without microvascular loss or endothelial impairment, a direct neurotoxic Aβ mechanism would be supported and microvascular impairment rejected. The observation of microvascular impairment in DS with Alzheimer's disease changes fails to reject the microvascular hypothesis and provides some support for this potential mechanism of injury.
Source: Alzheimer's and Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association - Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research