Neuropathological evaluation of a vertebrate brain aged ~ 245 years

Aging of the human and primate brain is associated with a wide range of distinct alterations affecting cell physiology, tissue integrity and architecture of the central nervous system (CNS) [15]. The limited self-renewal capacity of postmitotic neurons through adult neurogenesis [12] renders these key cells more susceptible to various exogenous and endogenous threats such as toxic agents, pathophysiological conditions throughout a life time. Similarly, non-neuronal cells such as microglia and other CNS-associated macrophages have been proven to be relatively long-lived in human and rodent brains with relatively low rates of homeostatic proliferation [8, 16, 21] making them equally susceptible to environmental stimuli.