Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy in Alzheimer's Disease: Clinicopathological Correlations

The presence of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) in capillaries and arterioles of the cerebral and cerebellar cortex of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients may provide an opportunity to study the clinical significance of these vascular changes in AD. We reviewed the clinical and pathological features of 40 patients with AD without other CNS disease. The sections were examined by the red Congo method under a polarized light for the presence of CAA. Twenty-two (55%) had AD + CAA. CAA was seen most frequently and was of greater severity in occipital and frontal gray matter. We concluded that it is not possible to differentiate between AD patients with CAA and those without CAA in terms of demographic characteristics and neurological and psychiatric symptomatology.