ABSTRACT
Parkinson's disease with dementia (PD-D) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) may result from the same neurodegenerative process with different temporal and spatial courses. The authors report an association between DLB and family history of dementia in a comparison study between patients with a clinicopathological diagnosis of PD-D and DLB. Findings suggest that positive family history for dementia is associated with DLB with a yet unknown mechanism.
Subject(s)
Dementia/genetics , Genetic Predisposition to Disease/genetics , Lewy Body Disease/genetics , Parkinson Disease/genetics , Aged , Brain/pathology , Dementia/diagnosis , Dementia/pathology , Female , Genotype , Humans , Lewy Body Disease/diagnosis , Lewy Body Disease/pathology , Male , Middle Aged , Parkinson Disease/diagnosis , Parkinson Disease/pathology , Statistics as TopicABSTRACT
Visual hallucinations (VH) are among the most common non-motor complications of Parkinson's disease (PD). A few studies on their etiopathogenesis have suggested involvement of cortical and amygdalar areas. In order to investigate the possible association between extranigral Lewy Body (LB) distribution across cortical and amygdalar regions and the presence of VH in PD brain donors, we conducted a clinico-pathological comparison of 10 PD patients with VH vs 10 closely matched PD patients without VH. The LB burden was significantly higher across the amygdala and the frontal, temporal and parietal cortical areas in patients with VH. Although our results suggest significant extranigral involvement, the precise etiopathologic mechanisms responsible for the development of VH need further clarification.
Subject(s)
Amygdala/pathology , Cerebral Cortex/pathology , Hallucinations/complications , Lewy Bodies/pathology , Parkinson Disease/pathology , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Male , Parkinson Disease/complicationsABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to investigate the causes and seasonality of death and co-morbid conditions among progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) patients. 22 consecutive clinicopathologically confirmed PSP patients were compared with 22 gender and age-matched Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and 26 non-neurological controls. All subjects consented during life to donate their brains to the University of Miami Brain Endowment Bank. Respiratory-related deaths were significantly more frequent in PSP when compared to PD patients. Recurrent respiratory infections were also very frequent in PSP patients and were commonly associated with respiratory-related deaths. Deaths that occurred during winter and spring months accounted for about 70% of deaths among PSP patients. The most common co-morbid condition in PSP was hypertension, present in 50% of cases.
Subject(s)
Respiratory Insufficiency/mortality , Respiratory Tract Infections/mortality , Supranuclear Palsy, Progressive/mortality , Aged , Cause of Death , Comorbidity , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Parkinson Disease/mortality , SeasonsABSTRACT
Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is the second most common parkinsonian syndrome, characterized by a 'diverse' clinical phenotype. Although several different diagnostic guidelines have been proposed, the early and accurate diagnosis of PSP remains problematic and neuropathology is still considered the 'gold standard'. In order to contribute to the better clinical characterization of PSP, we conducted a postmortem study in a cohort of 22 consecutive PSP brain donors and compared our results with those of previously published reports. Our results further demonstrate and expand the varied clinical picture of PSP. Furthermore, we report associations between older age at onset, early dementia, early falls and smoking with shorter PSP duration.
