[A case of familial juvenile Alzheimer's disease with apallic state at the relatively early stage and various neurological features--a clinicopathological study].

A case of familial juvenile Alzheimer's disease with apallic state at the relatively early stage and various neurological features was reported. A 33-year-old woman showed a progressive dementia followed by apallic state at the relatively early stage, and died of cardiac failure at the age of 45. Neurological examination disclosed chorea, myoclonus, rigidity, pyramidal sign, and generalized convulsion. Neuropathologically, extensive senile changes such as senile plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and granurovascular degenerations were observed in the brain, chiefly in the cerebral cortex and limbic system. The present case was characterized by a severe neuronal loss in the subcortical gray matter such as the caudate nucleus, dentate nucleus, substantia nigra, and thalamus as well as a marked myelin loss and axonal damages in the cerebral white matter. This case suggested a combination of multisystemic degeneration and a primary degeneration of the cerebral white matter. The additional peculiar aspects in this case were the senile plaques and amyloid angiopathy in the cerebellar cortex, and the senile plaques and grumose degeneration in the cerebellar dentate nucleus. In the clinicopathological standpoint, the apallic state in this case could be attributed to a severe degeneration of the cerebral white matter in addition to the cerebral cortical deterioration. Furthermore, the occurrence of chorea and myclonus might be contributed to the severe degeneration of the caudate nucleus and to the degeneration of the dentate nucleus, particularly to the grumose degeneration, respectively.