This study investigated whether the Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathological lesions diffuse plaques (DPs), neuritic plaques (NPs), and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). Negative binomial regressions was performed using gene expression data accrued from a single population of CA1 pyramidal neurons and regional hippocampal dissections obtained from participants in the Rush Religious Orders Study (RROS). The RROS participants included older religious clergy who have agreed to medical and psychological evaluation each year and brain donation after death. This study began in 1993 and has enrolled more than 1,100 participants across the United States. The study has 22 years of clinical data on more than 1,100 people and brain tissue from over 350 people.

The dataset includes microarray and neuropathological data. A series of tissue sections were prepared for neuropathological evaluation including visualization and quantitation of NPs, DPs, and NFTs. Amyloid plaque load and NFT burden were determined by counting the total number of NPs, DPs, and NFTs per subject. For single population and regional hippocampal microarray analysis, individual CA1 pyramidal neurons were microaspirated via laser capture microdissection. Fifty CA1 pyramidal neurons were captured for population analysis.