Filter by keywords:



Filtering documents. Please wait...

1/7. Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation, type 1 is characterized by alpha-, beta-, and gamma-synuclein neuropathology.

    Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation, type 1 (NBIA 1), or Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome, is a rare neurodegenerative disorder characterized clinically by Parkinsonism, cognitive impairment, pseudobulbar features, as well as cerebellar ataxia, and neuropathologically by neuronal loss, gliosis, and iron deposition in the globus pallidus, red nucleus, and substantia nigra. The hallmark pathological lesions of NBIA 1 are axonal spheroids, but Lewy body (LB)-like intraneuronal inclusions, glial inclusions, and rare neurofibrillary tangles also occur. Here we show that there is an accumulation of alpha-synuclein (alphaS) in LB-like inclusions, glial inclusions, and spheroids in the brains of three NBIA 1 patients. Further, beta-synuclein (betaS) and gamma-synuclein (gammaS) immunoreactivity was detected in spheroids but not in LB-like or glial inclusions. Western blot analysis demonstrated high-molecular weight alphaS aggregates in the high-salt-soluble and Triton X-100-insoluble/sodium dodecyl sulfate-soluble fraction of the NBIA 1 brain. Significantly, the levels of alphaS were markedly reduced in the Triton X-100-soluble fractions compared to control brain, and unlike other synucleinopathies, insoluble alphaS did not accumulate in the formic acid-soluble fraction. These findings expand the concept of neurodegenerative synucleinopathies by implicating alphaS, betaS, and gammaS in the pathogenesis of NBIA 1.
- - - - - - - - - -
ranking = 1
keywords = globus pallidus, pallidus, globus
(Clic here for more details about this article)

2/7. A case of clinically and neuropathologically atypical corticobasal degeneration with widespread iron deposition.

    A 65-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital for forgetfulness, depression and eccentric behavior that had been first noticed 2 years prior to admission. She showed memory impairment, perseveration and repeated violent actions, but no limb-kinetic apraxia. She died 12 years after the onset of symptoms. At autopsy, the unfixed brain weighed 820 g. Atrophy was circumscribed in the frontal lobe on both sides. The globus pallidus and the caudate nucleus were markedly atrophic and gold yellow in color, and the substantia nigra was strikingly pale. The cortical area showed neuronal loss and status spongiosus of the second and third cortical layers with ballooned neurons. Marked neuronal loss was observed in the dorsomedial nucleus of the thalamus, Meynert basal nucleus and substantia nigra. With Holzer stain, fibrillary gliosis was found to be severe in the frontal lobe, globus pallidus, subthalamic nucleus, hippocampus, dorsomedial nucleus of thalamus, substantia nigra, pontine tegmentum and inferior olivary nucleus. With Bielschowsky-Hirano stain, neurofibrillary tangles were observed in the cortex, hippocampus, substantia nigra, dentate nucleus, subthalamic nucleus, pontine nucleus, the inferior olivary nucleus, dorsomedial nucleus of the thalamus and, to a lesser extent, the neostriatum. Strikingly numerous argyrophilic and tau-positive threads were present in the cerebral white matter. These neuropathological findings corresponded to corticobasal degeneration, but lesions characteristic of progressive supranuclear palsy were also found. Moreover, widespread iron deposition throughout the central nervous system was the most striking finding of the present case. To our knowledge, such a case has not been reported in the literature to date.
- - - - - - - - - -
ranking = 2
keywords = globus pallidus, pallidus, globus
(Clic here for more details about this article)

3/7. pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration initially presenting as postural tremor alone in a Japanese family with homozygous N245S substitutions in the pantothenate kinase gene.

    We describe a 24-year-old Japanese woman with pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration (PKAN) whose only early symptom was postural tremor in the right hand at around 18 years of age, leading to a diagnosis of essential tremor at age 21. Although she was treated with arotinolol hydrochloride and clonazepam, she gradually progressed to extrapyramidal and pyramidal signs several years later. T2-weighted magnetic resonance images (MRI) showed bilaterally marked hypointensity with a central region of hyperintensity in the globus pallidus, or the so-called "eye-of-the-tiger" sign. Six years have passed since the initial appearance of postural tremor, whereas she has not shown choreoathetosis, retinitis pigmentosa, optic atrophy, or seizure. Direct sequencing of the patient's genomic dna revealed homozygous base substitutions in the pantothenate kinase gene (PANK2): the A764-->G substitution (N245S) due to consanguinity of her parents. Although the heterozygous form of this mutation has already been reported among several families, this is the first report of the homozygous mutation in a patient with atypical-type PKAN. This detailed description of the clinical features of a Japanese patient with PKAN arising from homozygous N245S mutations in PANK2 would be useful for elucidating the pathogenesis of PKAN.
- - - - - - - - - -
ranking = 1
keywords = globus pallidus, pallidus, globus
(Clic here for more details about this article)

4/7. Tau-predominant-associated pathology in a sporadic late-onset Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome.

    Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome (HSS) is a heterogeneous clinicopathological disorder currently included within the broader title of neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA). The classic histological hallmarks of HSS are axonal spheroids and excessive iron-containing granules accompanied by neuronal loss and gliosis in the globus pallidus and substantia nigra reticulata. In the modern literature, attention has been drawn to the co-occurrence of two other histological markers: lewy bodies mainly composed of abnormal alpha-synuclein, and neurofibrillary tangles due to hyperphosphorilated tau aggregation. Discrepancies exist regarding the importance of these molecular changes and its relevance for the nosology of HSS. Most authors have emphasized the importance of the Lewy body-like pathology, favoring the inclusion of HSS within the alpha-synucleinopathies. We report on a case of late-onset HSS, with the typical histological findings restricted to the basal ganglia and cerebellum in which tau pathology was exceedingly more abundant than alpha-synuclein pathology. This case contributes to the increasing evidence about the heterogeneity of HSS. We favor the view that the molecular changes and the protein misfolding underlying the Lewy body and tangle formation in HSS/NBIA are secondary to the main pathological process and should not be taken as the basis for its nosological classification.
- - - - - - - - - -
ranking = 1
keywords = globus pallidus, pallidus, globus
(Clic here for more details about this article)

5/7. autopsy case of pure akinesia showing pallidonigro-luysian atrophy.

    A 60-year-old man developed levodopa-resistant pure akinesia. The patient gradually became more akinetic without accompanying gaze palsies, nuchal dystonia, or other parkinsonian features such as rigidity or tremor. At the age of 71, he died of bronchopneumonia. Neuropathologically, bilateral marked neuronal loss and gliosis were restrictedly observed in the globus pallidus, substantia nigra and corpus luysii, whereas mild gliosis without neuronal loss was found in the brain stem. With Gallyas-Braak silver stain, numerous argyrophilic fibrous structures partly surrounding glial nuclei were observed in the three major affected regions. With Bodian stain, however, they were rarely recognized. The structures were partly positive for tau protein. Rare neurofibrillary tangles were found in the three areas and brain stem. They were relatively more numerous but still sparse in the hippocampus and the parahippocampus. The present case was diagnosed as having pallidonigro-luysian atrophy based on two characteristic findings: (i) the distribution of lesions showing neuronal loss with gliosis; and (ii) significant presence of tau-positive argyrophilic fibrous structures related to glia but with the absence of neurofibrillary tangles in the major affected regions and the brain stem. As our present case uniquely showed pure akinesia for the whole clinical course, it is noteworthy to report it here with a full neuropathological evaluation. In addition, a moderate number of diffuse plaques positive for beta-amyloid were distributed in the thalamus.
- - - - - - - - - -
ranking = 1
keywords = globus pallidus, pallidus, globus
(Clic here for more details about this article)

6/7. Slowly progressive L-DOPA nonresponsive pure akinesia due to nigropallidal degeneration: a clinicopathological case study.

    We report an autopsy case of a 51-year old man who showed slowly progressive pure akinesia: freezing phenomenon and festination during 21 years of illness without tremor, rigidity, upward gaze palsy, bradykinesia and dementia, which were not responded to L-DOPA clinically. Neuropathological findings revealed the circumscribed regions in the substantia nigra and middle portion of the internal globus pallidus (GPi), without neurofibrillary tangles, neuropil threads, and glial fibrillary tangles. So this case was clearly distinguished with progressive nuclear palsy and pallidonigroluisian atrophy. It was first reported to describe that L-DOPA nonresponsive pure akinesia can arise from nigopallidal atrophy.
- - - - - - - - - -
ranking = 1
keywords = globus pallidus, pallidus, globus
(Clic here for more details about this article)

7/7. Can secondary degeneration accelerate the formation of neurofibrillary tangles? A case of hemispheric infarction showing asymmetric degeneration of the substantia nigra, red nuclei, inferior olivary nuclei and dentate nuclei with concomitant changes of progressive supranuclear palsy.

    A case of hemispheric infarction involving the territory of the right middle cerebral artery and the thalamus showed conspicuous asymmetric degeneration in the substantia nigra, red nuclei, inferior olivary nuclei and dentate nuclei with concomitant changes of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). The right substantia nigra and red nucleus showed loss of neurons and proliferation of astrocytes. The right olivary nucleus was hypertrophic, while the neuronal loss and astrocytosis in the dentate nucleus were predominant on the contralateral side. Modified Gallyas-Braak staining revealed the extensive distribution of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), threads and intraglial argyrophilic structures in the globus pallidus, subthalamic nuclei, cerebral cortex and dentate nuclei, as well as in the affected brain stem nuclei, with a distinct predominance on the affected side. In this case, the one-sided predominance of the extended degeneration in these brain stem and cerebellar areas is considered, in addition to the PSP changes, to be due to secondary retrograde degeneration via the nigrostriatal and dentato-rubro-thalamic pathways following the hemispheric infarction, and to also be the result of disruption of the dentato-olivary fiber connections. In addition, because of the predominant distribution of NFTs on the more degenerated side, it is surmised that the formation of NFTs may be accelerated by secondary degeneration.
- - - - - - - - - -
ranking = 1
keywords = globus pallidus, pallidus, globus
(Clic here for more details about this article)


Leave a message about 'Neurodegenerative Diseases'


We do not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content in this site. Click here for the full disclaimer.