Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a progressive neurological condition of which there is currently no cure. The main pathological feature of the disease is degeneration of the dopaminergic neurons within the brain, primarily in the Pars Compacta region of the Substantia Nigra (SN). This is thought to be a result of the formation of soluble aggregates of α-synuclein known as ‘Lewy Bodies’ in the neurones of PD patients, which can be clearly seen in various regions of the brain upon post mortem examination.
Lewy Bodies are a rather obscure area of research and it is not known whether they are the direct cause of neuronal death. However, several studies have proven that Lewy Bodies have the ability to spread from cell to cell and propagate to other parts of the body: when ventral tissue from the fetal midbrain is transplanted into the SN of PD patients, Lewy Bodies can be found in the new tissue after several years (REFERENCE); and perhaps more significantly, it was recently discovered by Lee et al., that after injection of brain lysate containing Lewy Bodies into the stomach wall of mice, α-synuclein spreads from the stomach wall into the myenteric neurons of the enteric nervous system. …show more content…
Holmqvist et al. prove that this is in fact the case in their 2014 study published in Acta Neuropathologica: ‘Direct evidence of Parkinson pathology spread from the gastrointestinal tract to the brain in
Lewy Bodies are a rather obscure area of research and it is not known whether they are the direct cause of neuronal death. However, several studies have proven that Lewy Bodies have the ability to spread from cell to cell and propagate to other parts of the body: when ventral tissue from the fetal midbrain is transplanted into the SN of PD patients, Lewy Bodies can be found in the new tissue after several years (REFERENCE); and perhaps more significantly, it was recently discovered by Lee et al., that after injection of brain lysate containing Lewy Bodies into the stomach wall of mice, α-synuclein spreads from the stomach wall into the myenteric neurons of the enteric nervous system. …show more content…
Holmqvist et al. prove that this is in fact the case in their 2014 study published in Acta Neuropathologica: ‘Direct evidence of Parkinson pathology spread from the gastrointestinal tract to the brain in