Presence of adult hippocampal neurogenesis in aged adults and Alzheimer’s disease
Description
Here we demonstrate that not only is hippocampal neurogenesis persistent through the tenth decade of life, but it is detectable even in patients with mild cognitive impairments and Alzheimer’s disease. In a cohort of 18 patients with a mean age of 90.6 years, Nestin+Sox2+Ki67+ neural stem cells and DCX+ neuroblasts and immature neurons were detected, but their number greatly varies between patients. Nestin+ cells localize in the anterior hippocampus while neural progenitor cells, neuroblasts and immature neurons are evenly distributed along the entire anterior/posterior axis. Notably, the number of DCX+PCNA+ cells is reduced in mild cognitive impairments and higher numbers of neuroblasts are associated with better cognitive status. In addition, the number of DCX+PCNA+ cells correlate with the amount of presynaptic SNARE interactions. Our results suggest the existence of hippocampal neurogenesis in the aged and diseased human brain and the possible association of neurogenesis with cognition.