Absence of aluminium in neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Using the new technique of nuclear microscopy, aluminium is not detected in pyramidal neurons in brain tissue from Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. The analytical technique of nuclear microscopy can simultaneously image and analyse features in unstained and untreated tissue sections. In tissue which had been previously subjected to conventional procedures such as fixation and osmication, aluminium was observed in both neurons and surrounding tissue. This result shows that the analysis of tissue prepared using conventional chemical techniques may produce contamination or elemental redistribution, and supports our previous investigations which implied that aluminium is not involved in the aetiology of AD. In addition, significant increases in iron, phosphorus and sulphur concentrations were noted between neurons from Alzheimer tissue and neurons from age-matched controls, and between the supporting Alzheimer tissue and supporting control tissue, implying an overall increase in these elements. No significant increase in calcium was observed between neurons from Alzheimer tissue and neurons from age-matched controls.