Premium
A post‐mortem stereological study of striatal cell number in human obesity
Author(s) -
Weise Christopher M.,
Mouton Peter R.,
Eschbacher Jennifer,
Coons Stephen W.,
Krakoff Jonathan
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
obesity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.438
H-Index - 199
eISSN - 1930-739X
pISSN - 1930-7381
DOI - 10.1002/oby.20897
Subject(s) - stereology , striatum , glial fibrillary acidic protein , astrocyte , neuron , nissl body , population , pathology , endocrinology , staining , medicine , anatomy , biology , central nervous system , immunohistochemistry , neuroscience , environmental health , dopamine
Objective Neuroimaging studies have revealed abnormalities in brain structure, including the striatum, in obese people. In this study, the cellular and parenchymal basis for these findings in post‐mortem brain tissue was investigated. Methods Design‐based (unbiased) stereology combined with histochemical and immunocytochemical staining was used to quantify total number of neurons and astrocytes in post‐mortem striatal brain samples from nine obese (BMI 40.2 ± 6.1 kg/m 2 ) and eight lean (BMI 24.4 ± 1.0 kg/m 2 ) donors. Total numbers of Nissl‐stained neurons and glial fibrillary acidic protein‐immunopositive astrocytes were counted in 10 systematic‐random sections starting from the frontal pole of the striatum. Results There were no differences in mean total numbers of neurons (obese: 7.60 E +06; SD 2.50 E +06; lean: 7.85 E +06; SD 8.26 E +05; P < 0.78) or astrocytes (obese: 7.42 E +06; SD 2.27 E +06; lean: 7.43 E +06; SD 2.50 E +06; P < 0.99). A higher variance was found for number of neurons ( P < 0.007) but not astrocytes ( P < 0.72) in the obese group. Neuron/glia ratios were similar in both groups (obese: 1.07, SD 0.39; lean: 1.15, SD 0.37; P < 0.70) with an overall striatal neuron/glia ratio of 1.11 (SD 0.37) across the entire study population ( n = 17). Conclusions No difference was found in the average numbers of neurons and astrocytes in the anterior striatum between lean and obese people. The morphological basis for structural brain changes in obesity requires further investigation.