Pathological glial tau accumulations in neurodegenerative disease: Review and case report

Robert W. Berry, Bruce Quinn, Nancy Johnson, Elizabeth J. Cochran, Nupur Ghoshal, Lester I. Binder

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

39 Scopus citations

Abstract

Abnormal deposits of tau protein accumulate in glia in many neurodegenerative diseases. This suggests that in some instances the disease process may target glial tau, with neuronal degeneration a secondary consequence of this process. In this report, we summarize the pattern of glial tau pathology in various neurodegenerative disorders and add original findings from a case of sporadic frontotemporal dementia that exhibits astrocytic tau pathology. The neurodegenerative diseases span the spectrum of relative neuronal and glial tau involvement, from disorders affecting only neuronal tau to those in which abnormal tau deposits are found only in glia. From this, we conclude that glial tau can be a primary target of the disease process, and that this can lead to neuronal degeneration.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)469-479
Number of pages11
JournalNeurochemistry International
Volume39
Issue number5-6
DOIs
StatePublished - 2001

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