Premium
Age‐related changes in the human nigrostriatal dopaminergic system
Author(s) -
De Keyser Jacques,
Ebinger Guy,
Vauquelin Georges
Publication year - 1990
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.410270210
Subject(s) - dopaminergic , putamen , dopamine , agonist , striatum , medicine , endocrinology , dopamine receptor , dopamine receptor d2 , receptor , nigrostriatal pathway , neuroscience , biology , substantia nigra
Abstract A deficiency of dopamine in the striatum may contribute to the decline in motor function associated with aging. We examined the effect of aging on the densities of the D 1 and D 2 dopamine receptors, their high‐agonist affinity sites, and the dopamine uptake sites in postmortem human putamen (n = 32; age range, 19–88 years). With aging a steady decrease was seen in dopamine uptake sites ( p < 0.001), confirming previous morphometric and biochemical data of an age‐related loss of nigrostriatal axons. In contrast, the concentrations of the D 1 and D 2 dopamine receptors and their high‐agonist affinity sites, which are believed to represent the functionally active receptors, were not affected by the aging process. These results may have implications for the pharmacological treatment of the age‐related decline in motor function.