Neurons and Glial Cells of the Lateral Tuberal Hypothalamic Nucleus in Vascular Dementia

Abstract

The aim was to study the size and density of neurons and glial cells of the hypothalamic lateral tuberal nucleus (LTN) in vascular dementia (VD), which is the second most common dementia. Material and methods. The density of neurons and glial cells, the cross-sectional area of nuclei, nucleoli and perikarya of LTN neurons were determined in patients with VD (n=10) and in the control group of individuals (n=10) who did not have any neurological or cognitive dysfunction. Comparison of indicators between groups was carried out using ANOVA and Student's t-test. Results. In VD cases all of the studied morphometric parameters of neurons and their density were decreased by within 20% (p<0.02). An increase in the neuroglial index by an average of 27% (p=0.04) was also noted. Сhanges in the size of neurons and nucleoli were observed regardless of the gender of patients. However, a decrease in the neuronal density (p = 0,008) and an increase in the neuroglial index (p=0,03) were noted only in the group of female patients. Conclusion. VD leads to a decrease in the metabolic activity of neurons of the hypothalamus and of the lateral tuberal nucleus, in particular. Moreover, a part of LTN neurons dies inducing a compensatory and adaptive increase in the population of glial cells. Thus, some late manifestations of VD, such as asthenia and increased exhaustion, may be caused, at least in part by a decrease in the neuronal activity and reorganization of intercellular interactions in the LTN.