ABSTRACT
In 2015, the centenary of the death of Aloysius Alzheimer (1864-1915) was celebrated. Although Alzheimer highlighted the two key histological lesions, amyloid plaques and neuro- brillary tangles (NFTs) (Alzheimer, 1907), it is only in the last 30 years that developments in molecular biology, molecular genetics, immunohistochemistry, image analysis and protein chemistry have transformed our understanding of the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). For laboratory-based diagnostic pathologists, brain immunohistochemistry and cerebrospinal uid (CSF) immunoassays in particular have become an essential part of the diagnostic armoury.
