Amyloid plaques (also known as neuritic plaques, amyloid beta plaques or senile plaques) are extracellular deposits of the amyloid beta (Aβ) protein mainly in the grey matter of the brain.[1][2][3][4]Degenerativeneuronal elements and an abundance of microglia and astrocytes can be associated with amyloid plaques. Some plaques occur in the brain as a result of aging, but large numbers of plaques and neurofibrillary tangles are characteristic features of Alzheimer's disease.[5]
The plaques are highly variable in shape and size; in tissue sections immunostained for Aβ, they comprise a log-normal size distribution curve, with an average plaque area of 400-450 square micrometers (μm2). The smallest plaques (less than 200 μm2), which often consist of diffuse deposits of Aβ,[4] are particularly numerous.[6] Plaques form when Aβ misfolds and aggregates into oligomers and longer polymers, the latter of which are characteristic of amyloid.[7]
^Purves, Dale; Augustine, George J.; Fitzpatrick, David; Hall, William C.; LaManita, Anthony-Samuel; White, Leonard E.; Mooney, Richard D.; Platt, Michael L. (2012). Neuroscience (5th ed.). Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates. p. 713. ISBN978-0-87893-695-3.