Figure 5

Lithium treatment decreased the Abeta toxicity. A) NPY-labeled dystrophic neurites, surrounding 6E10-labeled Abeta plaques, were compared in CA1 field of hippocampus from control (a1) and lithium-treated (a2) PS1xAPP mice (5 sections per mice, 3 mice per group). B) Lithium treatment increased the proportion of Abeta plaques displaying no apparent NPY-dystrophies. The difference between groups (indicated in the figure) was assessed using t-test. C) Lithium also significantly (using non-parametric Wilcoxon test) reduced the NPY dystrophic area, normalized by the corresponding plaque area. D) The decrease on Abeta toxicity, at all plaque sizes, was also assessed by plotting the individual NPY dystrophic area versus Abeta plaque area. The individual data from both groups were fitted to a linear model and the possible difference between groups was analyzed using Multiple Regression Analysis. As shown, both groups (control and lithium) could be fitted to a linear model and both regression lines were statistically different (ANOVA F(3,145) = 38.00; p = 0.00001). Furthermore, the slopes of the fitted data were also significantly different between both groups (Conditional Sum of Squares, see Results). Scale bars: a1 25 μm, a2 50 μm.