neurofibrillary tangle

noun

: a pathological accumulation of paired helical filaments composed of abnormally formed tau protein that is found chiefly in the cytoplasm of neurons of the brain and especially the cerebral cortex and hippocampus and that occurs typically in Alzheimer's disease

Examples of neurofibrillary tangle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The three main focuses are on neurofibrillary tangles, amyloid-beta and cerebral atrophy. Lori Youmshajekian, Scientific American, 4 Dec. 2023 Eventually, the pileup overwhelms and kills the cell, leaving neurofibrillary tangles, which appear as ominous dark smears under a microscope. Celia Ford, WIRED, 12 Sep. 2023 Those two lesions are beta-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Scientific American, 13 Aug. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1963, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of neurofibrillary tangle was in 1963

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Cite this Entry

“Neurofibrillary tangle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/neurofibrillary%20tangle. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

Medical Definition

neurofibrillary tangle

noun
: a pathological accumulation of paired helical filaments composed of abnormally formed tau protein that is found chiefly in the cytoplasm of nerve cells of the brain and especially the cerebral cortex and hippocampus and that occurs typically in Alzheimer's disease

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