paired helical filaments


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paired helical filaments

Neuropathology Paired structures that are core constituents of the neurofibrillary tangles of Alzheimer's disease and occur in Down syndrome, Hallervorden-Spatz disease, lead encephalopathy, lipofuscinosis, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, and tuberous sclerosis. See Alzheimer's disease, Neurofibrillary tangles, Senile plaques.
McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Typical AD neuropathological lesions include perikaryal neurofibrillary tangles, which consist of paired helical filaments. The major component of these filaments is the microtubule-associated protein [tau], a normal protein that occurs in a modified, hyperphosphorylated form in AD.
Protein [tau] in cerebrospinal fluid of patients with alzheimer disease

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