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Neurofibrillary Tangles

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Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology

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Synonyms

Hyperphosphorylated tau; NFT; Tangles

Definition

One of the neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) consist of insoluble accumulations of paired, helical filaments composed of the protein tau. Normally, the function of the tau protein is to provide stability to the microtubule network within neurons. Tau becomes hyperphosphorylated and is recognized as abnormal with ubiquitin tagging, a process that normally promotes the degradation of a protein. However, in the case of tangle formation, hyperphosphorylated tau is not broken down or catabolized and accumulates. Intermediate stages of tangle formation represent varying degrees of tau phosphorylation and accumulation. Along with senile plaques, NFTs are the basis on which a neuropathological diagnosis of AD is made. Figure 1 displays NFTs in the brain.

Fig. 1
figure 1

Displays neurofibrillary tangles stained with a modified Bielschowsky silver stain (Photo courtesy of Steven S. Chin, M.D.,...

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References and Reading

  • Grabowski, T. J., & Damasio, A. R. (2004). Definition, clinical features and neuroanatomical basis of dementia. In M. M. Esiri, V. M.-Y. Lee, & J. Q. Trojanowski (Eds.), The neuropathology of dementia (2nd ed., pp. 1–33). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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  • Ishiki, A., Okamura, N., Furukawa, K., & Furumoto, S. (2015). Longitudinal assessment of tau pathology in patients with Alzheimer’s disease using [18 F] THK-5117 positron emission tomography. PloS One, 10(10), e0140311. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0140311

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Epidemiologic Studies, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA

    JoAnn T. Tschanz

  2. Department of Psychology, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA

    JoAnn T. Tschanz & Elizabeth K. Vernon

Authors
  1. JoAnn T. Tschanz
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  2. Elizabeth K. Vernon
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to JoAnn T. Tschanz .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Richmond, Virgin Islands, USA

    Jeffrey Kreutzer

  2. Kessler Foundation , West Orange, New Jersey, USA

    John DeLuca

  3. Suite 200 , Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, USA

    Bruce Caplan

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Tschanz, J.T., Vernon, E.K. (2018). Neurofibrillary Tangles. In: Kreutzer, J., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_492-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_492-2

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-56782-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56782-2

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