A Researcher Is Studying Autopsy Findings in Patients Diagnosed with Neurodegenerative

A researcher is studying autopsy findings in patients diagnosed with neurodegenerative disorders.  In some of the brain specimens, a neuronal protein that primarily exists in an alpha-helical secondary structure is found to be in a beta-sheet conformation.  The altered protein is resistant to protease and has accumulated in large quantities within the cells.  Further investigation shows that the abnormal isoform can perpetually induce the same conformational change within normally folded proteins.  Which of the following histopathological changes are most likely present in the brains of these patients?

A) Discrete, demyelinated plaques and gliosis
B) Intranuclear inclusions in oligodendrocytes
C) Microglial nodules and multinucleated giant cells
D) Neurofibrillary tangles and neuritic plaques
E) Sponge-like vacuolated neurons in gray matter

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