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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1987

Clinical and pathological features of diffuse cortical Lewy body disease (Lewy body dementia).

Four patients with severe dementia and a parkinsonian syndrome are described. Dysphasia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, visual and verbal memory disturbance and psychosis, usually of depressive type, occurred early in the course of the illness. Pathologically they were characterized by the presence of numerous Lewy bodies throughout both the cerebral cortex and brainstem. Three cases also had severe neurofibrillary tangle change or senile plaques in the neocortex, compatible with Alzheimer's disease, but the cortical tangle distribution did not always match that of the Lewy bodies. This disorder may form part of the spectrum of pathology in Parkinson's disease, where it may be one possible cause of dementia.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Absence of heparan sulfate proteoglycans in Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites in Parkinson's disease brains.

alpha-Synuclein is the major constituent of Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites in Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Relatively little is known about the exact mechanism of alpha-synuclein deposition and fibrillization in these alpha-synucleinopathies. In order to better understand the pathogenesis of alpha-synucleinopathies it is important to identify molecules that regulate the fibrillization of alpha-synuclein. Since it has been demonstrated that heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) promote the conversion of non-fibrillar amyloid beta-protein (Abeta) into neurotoxic fibrillar Abeta in Alzheimer's disease, they might also be involved in alpha-synuclein aggregation. It was the aim of our study to examine the distribution pattern of these macromolecules in PD brains and the possible association with Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites. Although HSPGs clearly colocalized with senile plaques, we were unable to identify HSPGs or GAGs in Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites and therefore concluded that it is likely that alpha-synuclein fibrillization and stabilization occurs independently of the presence of HSPGs or GAGs.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

A reassessment of the Lewy body.

Lewy body has been linked to Parkinson's disease for almost a century, but its significance in neurodegenerative diseases is not known. Whether it is toxic, protective, or just a bystander has been a subject of debate. Recent advances in molecular and genetic works suggest Lewy bodies are not essential for the diagnosis and pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. Furthermore, the discovery of gene mutations in PARK8, an autosomal-dominant late-onset parkinsonism with pleomorphic pathology, suggests the clinical expression of neurodegenerative diseases depends more on the anatomical pathways affected rather than any particular "pathological marker".

Humans↗
PubMed1996

Microtubule-associated protein 5 is a component of Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites in the brainstem and forebrain regions affected in Parkinson's disease.

Ubiquitin-positive Lewy neurites and Lewy bodies are found in idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) and diffuse Lewy body disease (DLBD). We found that, in three patients with PD and one with DLBD, microtubule-associated protein 5 (MAP5) immunostaining was consistently present in both Lewy neurites and Lewy bodies throughout the brainstem and forebrain regions affected in the disease. In contrast, other cytoskeletal markers (neurofilaments and MAP2) could be demonstrated in only a small fraction of Lewy bodies and neurites. Confocal microscopy demonstrated that MAP5 immunolabeling was located around the perimeter of the ubiquitin-positive labeling which occupied the central region of the neurite and Lewy body, with some overlap between MAP5 and ubiquitin staining. In contrast, in those Lewy bodies and neurites immunopositive for phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated neurofilament proteins, the neurofilament labeling was quite peripheral to the ubiquitin staining, with little or no overlap. Our results suggest MAP5 is more closely associated with the ubiquitinated proteins of Lewy bodies and neurites than other cytoskeletal proteins.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Alpha-synuclein immunoreactive Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites in Parkinson's disease are detectable by an advanced silver-staining technique.

Immunostaining with anti-alpha-synuclein is used to detect Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites in cases of Parkinson's disease and related disorders. To prove that the result of a modern silver method is equivalent to that achieved with immunoreactions for alpha-synuclein, individual sections were successively processed using both methods. The silver-stained sections showed all of the immunoreactive Lewy bodies, and thin Lewy neurites were detected equally well by both techniques. The present study, therefore, points to the capabilities of a modern silver-staining method which is less time consuming and less expensive than immunocytochemical techniques.

Humans↗
PubMed1989

The presence of tau distinguishes Lewy bodies of diffuse Lewy body disease from those of idiopathic Parkinson disease.

The antigenic components of Lewy bodies in the cerebral cortex and substantia nigra in 5 cases of diffuse Lewy body disease were examined by immunocytochemistry, using antibodies to neurofilaments (in the phosphorylated or non-phosphorylated forms); to ubiquitin; to the microtubule-associated proteins MAP1, MAP2 and tau; to isolated Alzheimer paired helical filaments, and to tubulin, in the tyrosinated and non-tyrosinated forms. Immunoreactivity with antibodies to cytoskeletal components was identical to that previously described for Lewy bodies of idiopathic Parkinson disease, with the exception that the inclusions of diffuse Lewy body disease (in both cortex and substantia nigra) were stained by an antibody to tau protein. Our findings indicate that although the inclusions found in diffuse Lewy body disease share structural and epitopic features with the inclusions of idiopathic Parkinson disease, they also have distinguishing characteristics (in addition to the differing neuronal populations involved). Also, they suggest that although the inclusions in both conditions appear similar, they probably have different pathogenetic origins.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

Lewy bodies.

Lewy bodies (LB) in the substantia nigra are a cardinal pathological feature of Parkinson's disease, but they occur in a number of neurodegenerative diseases and can be widespread in the nervous system. The characteristics, locations, and composition of LB are reviewed, with particular attention to alpha-synuclein (alpha-SYN), which appears to be the major component of LB. The propensity for alpha-SYN, a presynaptic protein widely expressed in the brain, to aggregate is because of an amyloidogenic central region. The factors that favor the aggregation of alpha-SYN and mechanisms of toxicity are examined, and a mechanism through which aggregates of alpha-SYN could induce mitochondrial dysfunction and/or release of proapoptotic molecules is proposed.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) associated with Lewy bodies in diffuse Lewy body disease.

We investigated the cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) 5 distribution pattern in diffuse Lewy body disease brains using immunohistochemistry. Cdk5 immunoreactivity was detected in both brainstem-type Lewy bodies (LBs) and cortical LBs. The number of Cdk5-positive LBs was less than that of ubiquitin- or alpha-synuclein-positive LBs, and more than that of phosphorylated neurofilament-positive LBs. Immunoelectron microscopy revealed Cdk5-immunolabeled granulo-filamentous components in LBs and LB-related neurites. These data suggest that Cdk5 may be associated with LB formation.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Positive immunoreactivity for vesicular monoamine transporter 2 in Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites in substantia nigra.

Vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) is responsible for packing dopamine into vesicles, and reduces the effects of neurotoxins by sequestering them into vesicles. In this report, we tested the hypothesis that VMAT2 is associated with Lewy body (LB) formation by immunohistochemical staining of midbrain and cortical sections of autopsied brains of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and diffuse Lewy body disease (DLBD) for VMAT2 using a polyclonal antibody against VMAT2. LBs in the substantia nigra (SN) of PD and DLBD were immunoreactive for VMAT2, especially in the peripheral zone. Previous electron microscopic studies also revealed the presence of numerous dense core vesicles around the LBs, suggesting that these vesicles are related to LB formation. Indeed, the presence of a few vesicle-linked proteins such as synaptophysin and chromogranin A in LBs has been reported. Together with the low expression of VMAT2 in the SN of PD, the involvement of VMAT2 in LBs of the SN suggests the association of this protein in the neurodegeneration of nigral neurons in PD.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

alpha-Synuclein in filamentous inclusions of Lewy bodies from Parkinson's disease and dementia with lewy bodies.

Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites are the defining neuropathological characteristics of Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. They are made of abnormal filamentous assemblies of unknown composition. We show here that Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites from Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies are stained strongly by antibodies directed against amino-terminal and carboxyl-terminal sequences of alpha-synuclein, showing the presence of full-length or close to full-length alpha-synuclein. The number of alpha-synuclein-stained structures exceeded that immunoreactive for ubiquitin, which is currently the most sensitive marker of Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites. Staining for alpha-synuclein thus will replace staining for ubiquitin as the preferred method for detecting Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites. We have isolated Lewy body filaments by a method used for the extraction of paired helical filaments from Alzheimer's disease brain. By immunoelectron microscopy, extracted filaments were labeled strongly by anti-alpha-synuclein antibodies. The morphologies of the 5- to 10-nm filaments and their staining characteristics suggest that extended alpha-synuclein molecules run parallel to the filament axis and that the filaments are polar structures. These findings indicate that alpha-synuclein forms the major filamentous component of Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites.

Autopsy↗
PubMed1997

Dementia with Lewy bodies: clustering of Lewy bodies in human patients.

Clustering of Lewy bodies (LB) was studied in four regions of the medial temporal lobe in 12 cases of dementia with LB (DLB). LB exhibited clustering in 67/70 (96%) brain areas analysed. In 34/70 (49%) analyses, LB were present in a single large cluster > or = 6400 microns in diameter, in 33/70 (47%) LB occurred in smaller clusters 200-3200 microns in diameter which exhibited a regular periodicity relative to the tissue boundary and in 3/70 (4%), LB were randomly distributed. A regular pattern of LB clusters was observed equally frequently in the cortex and hippocampus, in upper and lower cortical laminae and in 'pure' cases of DLB with negligible Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology compared with cases of AD with DLB. In cortical regions, there was no significant correlation between LB cluster size in the upper and lower cortical laminae. The regular periodicity of LB clusters suggests that LB develop in relation to the cells of origin of specific cortico-cortical and cortico-hippocampal projections.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

Common epitopes of human and murine Mallory bodies and Lewy bodies as revealed by a neurofilament antibody.

The antibody SMI 31, which is directed against a phosphorylated epitope, associated with neurofilaments and recognizes Lewy bodies in brains of patients with Parkinson's disease (Bancher C, Lassmann H, Budka H, Jellinger K, Grundgke-Iqbal I, Iqbal K, Wiche G, Seitelberger F, Wisniewski H: J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 1:81, 1989), decorated in immunofluorescence microscopy Mallory bodies (MBs) present in livers of mice chronically treated with griseofulvin and 3,5-diethoxycarbonyl-1,4-dihydrocollidine. In immunoblots it recognized very acidic MB components in a molecular weight range between 55 and 69.5 kilodaltons in addition to poorly soluble high molecular weight material. Moreover, an antibody to tau protein showed similar reactivities in immunofluorescence microscopy and immunoblotting experiments. Both antibodies also stained MBs in human liver with alcoholic hepatitis. These observations support and extend earlier findings which indicate that several intermediate filament-related cellular inclusion bodies, including MBs, share a variety of morphologic, structural and antigenic features. They also suggest the involvement of tau or tau-like proteins in MB formation.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Alz-50, ubiquitin and tau immunoreactivity of neurofibrillary tangles, Pick bodies and Lewy bodies.

Immunocytochemical and quantitative immunochemical techniques were used to study the expression of Alz-50 antigen, ubiquitin and Tau in neurologic disorders characterized by the formation of filamentous neuronal inclusions. Alz-50, anti-ubiquitin and Tau-1 immunostained the intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles and the neuritic component of plaques, both in Alzheimer's disease and in the brains of patients without dementia, but extraneuronal tangles were largely unstained. These antibodies also reacted with Pick bodies, and with the neurofibrillary tangles of Kufs' disease and Guam Parkinsonism-dementia. In sections from the brain of a patient with progressive supranuclear palsy, virtually all of the tangles were immunostained with Tau-1 but only a few with Alz-50 or anti-ubiquitin. Anti-ubiquitin also labelled Lewy bodies and the inclusions of granulovacuolar degeneration. Quantitative analysis of immunoblots of homogenized frontal cortex showed significantly more Alz-50 antigen in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's and Pick's disease than in controls. The level of this antigen was increased both in the crude homogenates and in the cytosolic fraction. Ubiquitin immunoreactivity was increased only in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease and then only in the crude homogenates. The finding that antigenic determinants for Alz-50, anti-ubiquitin and Tau-1 are shared by several filamentous neuronal inclusions occurring in diverse neurologic disorders may reflect common metabolic defects underlying the formation of these inclusions, or common metabolic responses to their presence.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Visual hallucinations in Lewy body disease relate to Lewy bodies in the temporal lobe.

Consensus opinion characterizes dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) as a progressive dementing illness, with significant fluctuations in cognition, visual hallucinations and/or parkinsonism. When parkinsonism is an early dominant feature, consensus opinion recommends that dementia within the first year is necessary for a diagnosis of DLB. If dementia occurs later, a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD) is recommended. While many previous studies have correlated the neuropathology in DLB with dementia and parkinsonism, few have analysed the relationship between fluctuating cognition and/or well-formed visual hallucinations and the underlying neuropathology in DLB and PDD. The aim of the present study was to determine any relationship between these less-studied core clinical features of DLB, and the distribution and density of cortical Lewy bodies (LB). The brains of 63 cases with LB were obtained over 6 years following population-based studies of dementia and parkinsonian syndromes. Annual, internationally standardized, clinical assessment batteries were reviewed to determine the presence and onset of the core clinical features of DLB. The maximal density of LB, plaques and tangles in the amygdala, parahippocampal, anterior cingulate, superior frontal, inferior temporal, inferior parietal and visual cortices were determined. Current clinicopathological diagnostic criteria were used to classify cases into DLB (n = 29), PDD (n = 18) or parkinsonism without dementia (n = 16) groups. Predictive statistics were used to ascertain whether fluctuating cognition or visual hallucinations predicted the clinicopathological group. Analysis of variance and regressions were used to identify any significant relationship(s) between the presence and severity of neuropathological and clinical features. Cognitive fluctuations and/or visual hallucinations were not good predictors of DLB in pathologically proven patients, although the absence of these features early in the disease course was highly predictive of PDD. Cases with DLB had higher LB densities in the inferior temporal cortex than cases with PDD. There was no association across groups between any neuropathological variable and the presence or absence of fluctuating cognition. However, there was a striking association between the distribution of temporal lobe LB and well-formed visual hallucinations. Cases with well-formed visual hallucinations had high densities of LB in the amygdala and parahippocampus, with early hallucinations relating to higher densities in parahippocampal and inferior temporal cortices. These temporal regions have previously been associated with visual hallucinations in other disorders. Thus, our results suggest that the distribution of temporal lobe LB is more related to the presence and duration of visual hallucinations in cases with LB than to the presence, severity or duration of dementia.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Aggregation of alpha-synuclein in Lewy bodies of sporadic Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies.

Lewy bodies (LBs) are hallmark lesions of degenerating neurons in the brains of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Recently, a point mutation in the gene encoding the presynaptic alpha-synuclein protein was identified in some autosomal-dominantly inherited familial PD pedigrees, and light microscopic studies demonstrated alpha-synuclein immunoreactivity in LBs of sporadic PD and DLB. To characterize alpha-synuclein in LBs, we raised monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to LBs purified from DLB brains and obtained a MAb specific for alpha-synuclein that intensely labeled LBs. Light and electron microscopic immunocytochemical studies performed with this MAb as well as other antibodies to alpha-and beta-synuclein showed that alpha-synuclein, but not beta-synuclein, is a component of LBs in sporadic PD and DLB. Western blot analyses of highly purified LBs from DLB brains showed that full-length as well as partially truncated and insoluble aggregates of alpha-synuclein are deposited in LBs. Thus, these data strongly implicate alpha-synuclein in the formation of LBs and the selective degeneration of neurons in sporadic PD and DLB.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed2002

14-3-3 proteins in Lewy bodies in Parkinson disease and diffuse Lewy body disease brains.

Several components of Lewy bodies have been identified, but the precise mechanism responsible for the formation of Lewy bodies remains undetermined. The 14-3-3 protein family is involved in numerous signal transduction pathways and interacts with alpha-synuclein, which is a major constituent of Lewy bodies. To elucidate the role of 14-3-3 proteins in neuro-degenerative disorders associated with Lewy bodies, we performed immunohistochemical studies on 14-3-3 in brains from 5 elderly control subjects and from 10 patients with Parkinson disease (PD) or diffuse Lewy body disease (DLBD). In the normal controls, 14-3-3-like immunoreactivity was mainly observed in the neuronal somata and processes in various cortical and subcortical regions. In the PD and DLBD cases, a similar immunostaining pattern was found and immunoreactivity was generally spared in the surviving neurons from the severely affected regions. In addition, both classical and cortical Lewy bodies were intensely immunolabeled and some dystrophic neurites were also immunoreactive for 14-3-3. Our results suggest that 14-3-3 proteins may be associated with Lewy body formation and may play an important role in the pathogenesis of PD and DLBD.

14-3-3 Proteins↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cognitive burden and excess Lewy-body pathology in the Lewy-body variant of Alzheimer disease.

OBJECTIVES: Authors compared the degrees of cognitive deficit among individuals with Alzheimer disease (AD), the Lewy-body variant of AD (LBV), and "pure" dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB); and compared cortical Lewy body (LB) counts in LBV versus DLB and neuritic plaque and neurofibrillary tangle severity in LBV versus AD. METHODS: Authors examined brain specimens from consecutive autopsies of elderly nursing home subjects. Numbers and densities of plaques, Lewy bodies, and tangle severity were determined in multiple cortical regions, and demographic and clinical variables were compared among the three groups. RESULTS: The three groups did not differ in demographic or clinical variables. The LBV group was significantly more impaired than the other groups. Cortical LB counts were significantly higher in LBV than in DLB. There was no evidence of increased plaque or tangle severity in LBV than in AD. CONCLUSION: The co-occurrence of AD and LB pathology is associated with higher numbers of LBs and more severe dementia than when classical AD or LB lesions occur alone.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Lewy bodies are located preferentially in limbic areas in diffuse Lewy body disease.

Lewy bodies (LBs)are found throughout the brain stem, limbic and neocortical areas in Parkinson's disease. Lewy bodies are also associated in these areas with dementia and the substrate of 'dementia with Lewy bodies' is thought to include Lewy body pathology in limbic and neocortical areas with or without Alzheimer-type changes. In order to determine whether dementia with Lewy bodies is characterised primarily by cortical or limbic LB pathology, we have measured the density of Lewy bodies, neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in 12 neocortical, limbic and brain stem sites in 10 patients who were pathologically diagnosed with diffuse Lewy body disease (DLBD) (64.7 +/- 2.7 years). The mean LB density in limbic areas (3.00 +/- 0.61/mm2) was significantly greater than that of neocortical areas (1.13 +/- 0.22/mm2, P < 0.001). The greatest density of LBs was found in the amygdala (4.1 +/- 0.7/mm2) and the lowest in the occipital cortex (0.3 +/- 0.1/mm2). In limbic areas, LB formation positively correlated with neuritic plaque formation (r = 0.51, P < 0.01) but not with neurofibrillary tangle densities. These data indicate that dementia with Lewy bodies is characterised primarily by limbic, and secondly by neocortical, LB pathology. It remains to be determined why limbic areas are selectively vulnerable to LB pathology in dementia with Lewy bodies.

Aged↗