Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Revue de Medecine Veterinaire, cilt.161, sa.12, ss.540-548, 2010 (SCI-Expanded)
The aim of the study was to investigate the brain pathological changes according to ageing in cats. For that, brains of 24 cats (over 10 years old) were compared with those of 8 younger cats (1-2 years old) using haema-toxylin and eosin (HE), Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) and von Kossa stains and immunohistochemical labelling for neuron-specific enolase (NSE), 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase (CNPase), ubiquitin, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and β-amyloid protein (Aβ). Cerebral and cerebellum atrophy with ventricular dilatation were observed for all aged cat brains. Histologically, these changes were frequently associated with fibrosis of meningeal vessels and hyalinosis of the choroid plexus, with neuronal degeneration (characterized by intense vacuolisation and swelling, white matter spongiosis, ubiquitin and NSE labelling and lipofuscinosis coupled to mineralization areas in the oldest cats) and also with severe gliosis (proliferation of Bergmann's glial cells and numerous positive GFAP and CNPase cells). Furthermore Aβdeposits were mainly observed in vessel walls (in 91.7% of old cats) and as senile plaque (in 83.3% of cases). These age-related alterations of brain observed in cats were similar to those observed in humans and in other old mammals.