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Involvement of the cerebellum in Parkinson disease and dementia with Lewy bodies
Author(s) -
Seidel Kay,
Bouzrou Mohamed,
Heidemann Nina,
Krüger Rejko,
Schöls Ludger,
den Dunnen Wilfred F. A.,
Korf HorstWerner,
Rüb Udo
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
annals of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.764
H-Index - 296
eISSN - 1531-8249
pISSN - 0364-5134
DOI - 10.1002/ana.24937
Subject(s) - dementia with lewy bodies , cerebellum , parkinson's disease , dementia , neuroscience , medicine , degenerative disease , disease , psychology , central nervous system disease , pathology
Brains from patients with Parkinson disease or dementia with Lewy bodies show aggregation of alpha‐synuclein in precerebellar brainstem structures. Furthermore, patients exhibit resting tremor, unstable gait, and impaired balance, which may be associated with cerebellar dysfunction. Therefore, we screened the cerebella of 12 patients with alpha‐synucleinopathies for neuropathological changes. Cerebellar nuclei and neighboring white matter displayed numerous aggregates, whereas lobules were mildly affected. Cerebellar aggregation pathology may suggest a prionlike spread originating from affected precerebellar structures, and the high homogeneity between patients with dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson disease shows that both diseases likely belong to the same neuropathological spectrum. Ann Neurol 2017;81:898–903