Citation

Piercecchi-Marti MD, De Paula AM, Gavaudan G, Bartoli C, Pélissier-Alicot AL, Léonetti G, Pellissier JF. Forensic Sci. Int. 2010; 194(1-3): e1-3.

Affiliation

Service de Médecine Légale et Droit de la Santé, Faculté de Médecine, CHU Timone, 27 Bd Jean Moulin, 13005 Marseille, France.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.forsciint.2009.07.010

PMID

19879077

Abstract

Aggressive or paradoxical behaviour may reflect an organic dementia. The most frequent is Alzheimer's disease, which results from an abnormal structural conformation of tubulin-associated protein (tau) and beta-amyloid protein that, respectively, aggregate in certain neurons as intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and in the extracellular environment as senile plaques. These lesions progress in the brain tissue according to the stages described by Braak and Braak. Staging of neurofibrillary pathology has proven anatomical and clinical correlation, which can be used in a medico-legal procedure. We report two cases demonstrating discrepancies between anatomical and clinical features, which should encourage medical expert to prudence when interpreting neuropathological reports.

Language: en