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Biomedical subjects

K Jellinger

Publications and source records attributed to K Jellinger.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Glutamate receptor antagonism: neurotoxicity, anti-akinetic effects, and psychosis.

There is evidence to suggest that glutamate and other excitatory amino acids play an important role in the regulation of neuronal excitation. Glutamate receptor stimulation leads to a non-physiological increase of intracellular free Ca2+. Disturbed Ca2+ homeostasis and subsequent radical formation may be decisive factors in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. Decreased glutamatergic activity appears to contribute to paranoid hallucinatory psychosis in schizophrenia and pharmacotoxic psychosis in Parkinson's disease. It has been suggested that a loss of glutamatergic function causes dopaminergic over-activity. Imbalances of glutamatergic and dopaminergic systems in different brain regions may result in anti-akinetic effects or the occurrence of psychosis. The simplified hypothesis of a glutamatergic-dopaminergic (im)-balance may lead to a better understanding of motor behaviour and psychosis.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Biogenic amines and metabolites in spinal cord of patients with Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

In four human controls, four cases of Parkinson's disease and three cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis analysis of dopamine, noradrenaline, serotonin and the metabolites 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, homovanillic acid and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid was performed in various segments of postmortem spinal cord. In controls the concentrations of dopamine are about 1/3 to 1/4 that of noradrenaline; the significantly highest content of noradrenaline was found in the lumbar, and dopamine in thoracic, lumbar and sacral segments of the spinal cord. Intersegmental distribution of monoamines was only present in spinal cord of controls, while in the spinal cord of parkinsonian patients such a difference was not found. Otherwise, biogenic amine and metabolite concentrations in spinal cord segments of parkinsonian patients did not differ significantly from those in the control subjects. However, it cannot be excluded that these segments are sensitive to drugs including neuroleptics and combined L-DOPA treatment. In subjects with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis significantly lower concentrations of noradrenaline in the cervical and thoracic, and of dopamine and homovanillic acid in the thoracic and lumbar segments were found in comparison with controls. The concentrations of serotonin and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in the thoracic segments of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis were significantly lower than that of controls. Differences in the inter-segmental distribution of noradrenaline in lumbar, lumbar-sacral, and serotonin in lumbar segments of spinal cord were found in this group.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗
PubMed1991

Increased levels of type VIII collagen in human brain tumours compared to normal brain tissue and non-neoplastic cerebral disorders.

The expression of type VIII collagen was examined in the normal and diseased human brain. Focal immunoreactivity was seen in histologically abnormal vessels of all four angiomas and 40 of 52 brain tumours (gliomas, meningiomas and schwannomas). An extended staining pattern, as well as a punctate distribution, was frequently observed in affected vessels. Staining was not apparent in nine normal brains and in 15 pathologic brains showing various cerebrovascular abnormalities, including Alzheimer's, Leigh's and Wernicke's diseases. Immunoblotting of glioblastomas revealed two bands at 56 kD and 67 kD which were also present at low levels in normal frontal cortex. The extracellular distribution of type VIII collagen was different from that of the other collagen types which have been described in brain and resembles patterns of expression described for certain tissues during mammalian embryogenesis (Kapoor et al., 1988). Our results provide additional evidence for the participation of type VIII collagen in some types of angiogenesis.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Intraspinal neurothekeoma (nerve sheath myxoma). A report of two cases.

Neurothekeomas (nerve sheath myxomas) are rare benign cutaneous tumors. The authors describe two spinal intradural cases that show histologic, immunohistochemical, and electron microscopic features identical to their cutaneous counterparts. The authors' findings suggest histogenesis from Schwann's cells or undifferentiated nerve sheath precursor cells. Neurothekeomas in unusual locations should be differentiated from myxoid neurofibromas, perineuriomas, and soft tissue myxomas.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

The neuropathologic basis of different clinical subgroups of Parkinson's disease.

Clinical and neuropathologic data in 45 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) were compared. Twenty-seven patients suffered from marked akinesia and rigidity (AR-type) and 18 patients from predominant resting tremor (T-type). Dementia, depression, and psychosis occurred in 26, 18, and 18 patients, respectively. Neuronal counts were performed in defined areas of the medial and lateral substantia nigra (SNM, SNL), locus ceruleus (LC), and dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN). The AR-type (compared with the T-type) showed higher neuronal loss of LC, SNL, SNM, and more severe gliosis, extraneuronal melanin deposits, and neuroaxonal dystrophy in substantia nigra. Demented PD patients showed more intense cortical Alzheimer lesions and higher neuronal depletion in the SNM, whereas PD subjects with moderate or marked dementia differed from mildly or not demented ones only in the higher degree of cortical Alzheimer lesions. More severe neuronal cell loss of DRN was observed in PD patients with depression. Occurrence of psychosis was not associated with any pathologic feature. Our findings indicate that some major clinical features of PD are related to distinct neuropathologic lesions.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Primary intracranial sarcomas: histopathological features of 19 cases.

Nineteen primary intracranial sarcomas out of a total of about 25,000 brain tumour biopsies are reported. Subtypes included malignant fibrous histiocytoma (6 cases), leiomyosarcoma (3), rhabdomyosarcoma (2), angiosarcoma (2), and one case each of fibrosarcoma, low-grade fibromyxoid sarcoma, malignant ectomesenchymoma, mesenchymal chondrosarcoma, differentiated chondrosarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma. Histological and immunohistochemical features corresponded to those of extracranial sarcomas. Nests of pleomorphic astrocytes mimicking glioma were detected in the five storiform-pleomorphic malignant fibrous histiocytomas. Our results indicate that intracranial sarcomas can be classified like their extracranial counterparts. The low incidence compared with earlier series is related to changes in classification and progress in histogenetic clarification.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Selective increase of iron in substantia nigra zona compacta of parkinsonian brains.

Histochemical and biochemical determinations of total iron, iron (II), and iron (III) contents in brain regions from Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases have demonstrated a selective increase of total iron content in parkinsonian substantia nigra zona compacta but not in the zona reticulata. The increase of iron content is mainly in iron (III). The ratio of iron (II):iron (III) in zona compacta changes from almost 2:1 to 1:2. This change is thought to be relevant and may contribute to the selective elevation of basal lipid peroxidation in substantia nigra reported previously. Iron may be available in a free state and thus can participate in autooxidation of dopamine with the resultant generation of H2O2 and oxygen free radicals.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Alzheimer lesions in the entorhinal region and isocortex in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.

Neuropathologic examination in elderly individuals and patients with Parkinson's disease with and without dementia reveals abundant isocortical amyloid deposits with no or only a few neuritic plaques, neuropil threads (NT), and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT), whereas NT and NFT may be present only in the entorhinal region of the parahippocampal cortex. In Down's syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease, early neuronal degeneration with deposition of NT and NFT may selectively involve layer pre-alpha (II) of the entorhinal region (Brodmann 26 area) forming the origin of the glutamatergic perforant pathway. Its bilateral destruction isolates the hippocampus from isocortical influx. Comparative studies in a series of aged subjects and those with Parkinson's disease show that psychostatus correlates better with the number of NT and NFT in the entorhinal region than in hippocampal area CA-1 and isocortex. This pattern of neuronal degeneration may explain cognitive impairment in early stages of both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Mesenchymal, non-meningothelial tumors of the central nervous system.

The spectrum of non-meningothelial mesenchymal tumors that may arise within the central nervous system is presented, based on the current classification of soft tissue tumors. Among malignant types, hemangiopericytoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, mesenchymal chondrosarcoma, and malignant fibrous histiocytoma are the most frequent ones. Rare tumor entities are mentioned. As in soft tissue sarcomas, diagnosis is mainly based on light and electron microscopy, while immunohistochemistry can improve accuracy of diagnosis.

Central Nervous System Neoplasms↗
PubMed1991

Prospective neuropathological validation of Hachinski's Ischaemic Score in dementias.

The sensitivity and specificity of Hachinski's Ischaemic Score (IS) in the diagnosis of the vascular aetiology of dementia was studied in a series of 32 demented patients, dementia of the Alzheimer type (16), multi-infarct dementia (7), mixed dementia (6), Pick's disease (3), with neuropathological diagnosis as the point of reference. The IS distinguished between primary degenerative dementia and multi-infarct or mixed dementia. As single features of the IS "a positive history of stroke" and "a fluctuating course" showed differing prevalences in the latter two diagnostic categories. The IS labelled 21% of patients with primary degenerative dementia as having a vascular aetiology. The uncritical application of the IS to large samples in epidemiological studies may cause incorrect labelling of a significant proportion of patients with primary degenerative dementia as vascular dementia. These results are based on observations of long-term inpatients and depend on neuropathological criteria. While the definite diagnosis of DAT by threshold criteria concerning plaque and tangle counts is well established, neither clinical nor pathological evidence of stroke necessarily means that cerebrovascular disease has anything to do with a patient's dementia.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

[Alzheimer dementia. A clinical long-term study with quantitative neuropathology].

Alzheimer's disease causes about 80% of dementias in old age. The pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease are senile plaques (SP) and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT), which to a lesser degree can also be found in the brains of mentally intact elderly. The question whether SP or NFT or any other process are primarily correlated to severity of dementia can only be answered in prospective longitudinal clinical and neuropsychological studies with quantitative neuropathological investigation. We report the correlations between mini-mental-state scores and lesion counts in 3 isocortical and 3 hippocampal areas in a consecutive series of 19 Alzheimer's patients studied prospectively in the Vienna Longitudinal Study on Dementia. Lesion counts increased at very late stages of dementia and were rather low in mild to moderate severity of dementia. Mildly demented patients with very slow progression of dementia also had rather high lesion counts. Neurofibrillary changes in NFT and neuritic plaques were correlated with severity of dementia, but diffuse plaques, i.e. SP without neuritic degeneration, were not at all correlated with severity of dementia. We speculate that NFT and SP do not represent the primary process which leads to dementia.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

A study of brain dopamine sulfate levels in relation to free dopamine and homovanillic acid in Parkinson's disease.

High performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection was used for determining dopamine sulfate in human brain tissues. Dopamine sulfate was examined in the striatum and frontal cortex of human brain. The concentrations of dopamine sulfate in these regions are extremely low in comparison to free dopamine, and to dopamine sulfoconjugates in the cerebrospinal fluid, plasma and urine. Data obtained with this technique in human post mortem brain specimens indicate that the analysis of tissues and body fluids for dopamine conjugates is useful for profiling metabolic dopamine activity in controls and neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson's disease.

Brain↗
PubMed1991

[Differential diagnosis of dementia diseases. A prospective clinical study with neuropathologic diagnostic verification].

We present clinico-pathological correlations for a consecutive series of 44 demented patients in the Vienna longitudinal study on dementia. Prospective clinical diagnosis used the DSM-III-R and the NINCDS-ADRDA criteria. Not only the clinical, but also the neuropathological diagnosis of DAT is based on exclusion criteria, and depends on the interpretation of minimal vascular lesions. Although we did not exclude atypical cases from the study, 80% of diagnoses could be validated at autopsy. Nevertheless, our set of clinical criteria needs further validation in patients in the earliest stages of dementia.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Pulmonary meningioma. Immunohistochemical and ultrastructural features.

Two cases of solitary primary pulmonary tumors showing the immunohistochemical and ultrastructural features of meningothelial meningiomas are presented. The benign clinical and radiologic course, the negative computed tomography scan of the brain (case 1), and negative neuropathologic investigation (case 2) support the diagnosis of a primary pulmonary meningioma rather than a metastazing malignant intracranial meningioma. Negative neuroendocrine markers (neuron-specific enolase, chromogranin, bombesin) and the lack of neurosecretory granules by electron microscopy confirm the diagnosis of this rare pulmonary tumor.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

A high ratio of chromogranin A to synaptin/synaptophysin is a common feature of brains in Alzheimer and Pick disease.

Chromogranin A and synaptin/synaptophysin were characterized by immunological methods in human autopsy brain tissue from patients with Alzheimer's and Pick's disease. In immunoblots there was no qualitative difference between the antigens in control and diseased brain, but significant quantitative differences were found. In all Alzheimer cases there was a significantly lower level of synaptin/synaptophysin, whereas chromogranin A was higher in 4 out of 5 cases and in all cases relative to synaptin/synaptophysin. An analogous finding was obtained for Pick's disease. Immunohistologically a consistent staining of neuritic plaques for chromogranin A, but not for secretogranin II was found in Alzheimer cases. In Pick's disease the characteristic Pick bodies showed an analogous specific immunostaining.

Aged↗