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The Purkinje cell in olivopontocerebellar atrophy. A Golgi and immunocytochemical study
Author(s) -
Ferrer I.,
Genist D.,
Davalos A.,
Bernado L.,
Sant F.,
Serrano T.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
neuropathology and applied neurobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.538
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1365-2990
pISSN - 0305-1846
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2990.1994.tb00955.x
Subject(s) - olivopontocerebellar atrophy , neurofilament , immunocytochemistry , biology , golgi apparatus , purkinje cell , atrophy , neuroscience , cerebellum , dendritic spine , microbiology and biotechnology , anatomy , pathology , endoplasmic reticulum , endocrinology , immunohistochemistry , degenerative disease , medicine , immunology , hippocampal formation , genetics , central nervous system disease
Purkinje cells were examined in three familial cases of olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OPCA) by means of the Golgi method, and neurofilament and calcium–binding protein immunocytochemistry. Reduced dendritic arborizations, as seen with different techniques, early formation of axonal spheroids, and abnormal accumulation of phosphorylated neurofilament epitopes in dendrites, somata and axonal spheroids, together with limited formation of proximal spine–like protrusions were the main changes in Purkinje cells. These lesions are unlikely to be the consequence of anterograde degeneration secondary to olivary atrophy, as postulated by some investigators, but probably represent primary damage to Purkinje cells in patients with OPCA. Reduced dendritic arborizations result in a decrease of receptor sites for parallel fibres and deprive granule cells of their main targets. Abnormal accumulation of neurofilaments in somata, dendrites and axonal spheroids may contribute to an abnormal transport and may impair protein turnover in the distal regions of Purkinje cells.