ABSTRACT
The influence of age on the prevalence of argyrophilic grain disease has been analyzed in the hippocampus from 29 centenarians. Argyrophilic grains were detected in 12 cases with Gallyas silver method, in 24 cases with anti-exon 10 (RD4) immunohistochemistry, in all the cases with a phospho-independent anti-tau (piTau) antibody and with a monoclonal antibody against Ser202 of the tau protein (AT8), suggesting a maturation of the grains. Ballooned neurons were found in the hippocampus of 12 cases in which grains were, on average, more abundant. Coiled bodies were found in 26, 15 and 13 cases respectively with piTau antibody, RD4 and Gallyas method. Cases with coiled bodies had a higher density of grains. The mean density of grains did not differ in the patients with or without dementia. The prevalence of tau-positive grains has been underestimated in the very old population. As neurofibrillary tangles, they appear to be a constant accompaniment of age but, contrarily to neurofibrillary tangles, do not seem to be strongly associated with dementia.
Subject(s)
Aging/metabolism , Inclusion Bodies/physiology , tau Proteins/chemistry , tau Proteins/physiology , Aged, 80 and over , Aging/pathology , Cytoplasmic Granules/chemistry , Cytoplasmic Granules/pathology , Female , Hippocampus/chemistry , Hippocampus/pathology , Humans , Inclusion Bodies/pathology , Male , Nerve Degeneration/metabolism , Nerve Degeneration/pathology , Neurons/chemistry , Neurons/pathology , Silver Staining/methods , Tauopathies/metabolism , Tauopathies/pathologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To identify independent risk factors of symptomatic deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in geriatric inpatients and to define high-risk patients likely to benefit from preventive treatment. DESIGN: Hospital-based case-control multicenter study with prospective data collection. SETTINGS: Geriatric university hospitals with long-, intermediate-, and short-term care facilities. PARTICIPANTS: All patients aged 65 and older in 19 geriatric departments were submitted to clinical surveillance over a 16-month period. MEASUREMENTS: Twenty-three potential risk factors of phlebitis were screened for. Comparison using logistic regression of 310 consecutive patients with symptomatic DVT versus 310 randomly selected controls was performed. The risk for symptomatic DVT in geriatrics was then scored from the clinical risk factors identified using multivariate analysis. This score is defined by the sum of the odds ratio (OR) of each risk factor present. RESULTS: Six factors were identified as independently related to the development of DVT: restriction of mobility (from OR=1.73, limited mobility without immobilization, to OR=5.64, bedridden during <15 days), aged 75 and older (OR=1.5/10 years), history of DVT or pulmonary embolism (OR=3.38), acute heart failure (OR=2.52), chronic edema of the lower limbs (OR=2.51), and paresis or paralysis of a lower limb (OR=2.06). The defined score of 8 or higher corresponded to an 88.7% probability of having symptomatic DVT. CONCLUSION: Treatments to prevent symptomatic DVT in hospitalized elderly should be evaluated on patients with these factors.
