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Where in the brain are neurofibrillary tangles commonly found?
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Alzheimer disease
Histopathologic image of neuritic plaques in the cerebral cortex in a patient with Alzheimer disease of presenile onset (onset before age 65).
In Alzheimer disease, neurofibrillary tangles are pathological accumulations of twisted tau protein fibers located within neurons.12
These tangles are commonly found in the cytoplasm of neurons throughout the brain, with a particular prevalence in the following areas:
- Cerebral cortex: The outer layer of the brain responsible for higher-level functions.1
- Hippocampus: A region critical for memory formation and spatial navigation.1
While these structures are diagnostic markers for Alzheimer disease when observed during an autopsy, they can also appear in smaller quantities in the brains of healthy elderly individuals.12