TY - JOUR
T1 - Neocortical Neuronal Loss in Patients with Multiple System Atrophy
T2 - A Stereological Study
AU - Salvesen, Lisette
AU - Winge, Kristian
AU - Brudek, Tomasz
AU - Agander, Tina Klitmøller
AU - Løkkegaard, Annemette
AU - Pakkenberg, Bente
N1 - © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: [email protected].
PY - 2017/1
Y1 - 2017/1
N2 - To determine the extent of neocortical involvement in multiple system atrophy (MSA), we used design-based stereological methods to estimate the total numbers of neurons, oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, and microglia in the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital cortex of brains from 11 patients with MSA and 11 age- and gender-matched control subjects. The stereological data were supported by cell marker expression analyses in tissue samples from the prefrontal cortex. We found significantly fewer neurons in the frontal and parietal cortex of MSA brains compared with control brains. Significantly more astrocytes and microglia were observed in the frontal, parietal, and temporal cortex of MSA brains, whereas no change in the total number of oligodendrocytes was seen in any of the neocortical regions. There were significantly fewer neurons in the frontal cortex of MSA patients with impaired executive function than in patients with normal executive function. Our results indicate that the involvement of the neocortex in MSA is far more widespread and substantial than previously thought. In addition, our results suggest that the increasingly recognized cognitive impairment in MSA may be related to neuronal loss in the frontal cortex.
AB - To determine the extent of neocortical involvement in multiple system atrophy (MSA), we used design-based stereological methods to estimate the total numbers of neurons, oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, and microglia in the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital cortex of brains from 11 patients with MSA and 11 age- and gender-matched control subjects. The stereological data were supported by cell marker expression analyses in tissue samples from the prefrontal cortex. We found significantly fewer neurons in the frontal and parietal cortex of MSA brains compared with control brains. Significantly more astrocytes and microglia were observed in the frontal, parietal, and temporal cortex of MSA brains, whereas no change in the total number of oligodendrocytes was seen in any of the neocortical regions. There were significantly fewer neurons in the frontal cortex of MSA patients with impaired executive function than in patients with normal executive function. Our results indicate that the involvement of the neocortex in MSA is far more widespread and substantial than previously thought. In addition, our results suggest that the increasingly recognized cognitive impairment in MSA may be related to neuronal loss in the frontal cortex.
U2 - 10.1093/cercor/bhv228
DO - 10.1093/cercor/bhv228
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 26464477
VL - 27
SP - 400
EP - 410
JO - Cerebral Cortex
JF - Cerebral Cortex
SN - 1047-3211
IS - 1
ER -