Localization of fibrillar polymorphs in human brain tissue

The proposed work will apply x-ray scanning micro-diffraction (µXRD) and x-ray micro fluorescence imaging (µXRF) to histological sections of human brain tissue to map the distribution of fibrillar aggregates of these proteins and the correlated abnormal deposition of specific elements in or around plaques and tangles. We have performed µXRD and µXRF on a section of hippocampus of a subject diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. These data have provided significant information on the distribution of fibrillar polymorphs among different plaques and tangles. Due to limited beamtime and initial issues with tissue flatness, we have not yet been able to measure tissue sections from all relevant brain regions for subjects with a full range of disease stages. Thus, to complete our characterization of the pathological pathway of Tau pathology, we propose to measure six brain regions from three patients at different stages of disease by µXRD at ID13 and µXRF at ID21.