Tauopathy belongs to a class of neurodegenerative diseases involving the aggregation of tau protein into neurofibrillary or gliofibrillary tangles (Neurofibrillary tangle) in the human brain. Tangles are formed by hyperphosphorylation of the microtubule protein known as tau, causing the protein to dissociate from microtubules and form insoluble aggregates. (These aggregations are also called paired helical filaments.) The mechanism of tangle formation is not well understood, and whether tangles are a primary cause of Alzheimers disease or play a peripheral role is unknown. Detection and imaging
Post-mortem
Tau tangles are seen microscopically in stained brain samples.Pre-mortem
In living patients tau tangle locations can be imaged with a PET scan using a suitable radio-emissive agent. Alzheimers disease
Neurofibrillary tangles were first described by Alois Alzheimer in one of his patients with Alzheimers disease (AD). The tangles are  considered a secondary tauopathy. AD is also classified as an amyloidosis because of the presence of senile plaques.When tau becomes hyperphosphorylated, the protein dissociates from the microtubules in axons. Then, tau becomes misfolded and the protein begins to aggregate, which eventually forms the neurofibrillary tangles seen in Alzheimers patients. Microtubules also destabilize when tau is dissociated. The combination of the neurofibrillary tangles and destabilized microtubules result in disruption of processes such as axonal transport and neural communication.The degree of NFT involvement in AD is defined by Braak stages.
However, treatment requires
more than giving the anthelmintic, the patient should also receive dietary supplements to improve their general level of health, in particular iron supplementation is very important. Iron is an important constituent of a multitude of enzyme systems involved in energy metabolism, DNA synthesis and
drug detoxification.An infection of N. americanus parasites can be treated by using benzimidazoles, albendazole, and mebendazole. A blood transfusion may be necessary in severe cases of anemia. Light infections are usually left untreated in areas where reinfection is common. Iron supplements and a diet high in protein will speed the recovery process. In a case study involving 56–60 men with Trichuris trichiura and/or N. americanus infections, both albendazole and mebendazole were 90% effective in curing T. trichiura. However, albendazole had a 95% cure rate for N. americanus, while mebendazole only had a 21% cure rate. This suggests albendazole is most effective for treating both T. trichiura and N. americanus.During the 1910s, common treatments for hookworm included thymol, 2-naphthol, chloroform, gasoline, and eucalyptus oil. By the 1940s, the treatment of choice was tetrachloroethylene, given as 3 to 4 cc in the fasting state, followed by 30 to 45 g of sodium sulfate. Tetrachloroethylene was reported to have a cure rate of 80 percent for Necator infections, but 25 percent in Ancylostoma infections, requiring re-treatment. Epidemiology
Hookworm anaemia was first described by Wilhelm Griesenger in Egypt, Cairo in 1852.