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Differences in neuropathologic characteristics across the Lewy body dementia spectrum

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Iryna Ziabreva, Emeritus Professor Robert Perry, Professor John O'Brien, Professor Ian McKeith, Emeritus Professor Elaine Perry, Dr Dag Aarsland

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Abstract

Background: The objective of this comparative neuropathologic study was to determine the extent to which dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson disease dementia (PDD) are distinct entities or part of a continuum with respect to the duration of parkinsonism. Methods: We evaluated the relationship between cortical alpha-synuclein pathology, plaques (Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease [CERAD]), tangles (Braak staging), and cholinergic deficits ( choline acetyltransferase in temporal cortex) in 57 prospectively assessed patients ( 29 DLB, 28 PDD), confirmed at autopsy. The PDD group was divided according to the median duration of parkinsonism prior to dementia. Results: There was an association between longer duration of parkinsonism prior to dementia and less severe cortical alpha-synuclein pathology (chi(2) 10.4, df 2, p = 0.006) and lower CERAD plaque scores (chi(2) 26.6, df 9, p = 0.002), but not Braak staging. These findings were confirmed in a further correlation analysis, which also identified an unexpected correlation between more pronounced cortical cholinergic deficits and longer duration of parkinsonism prior to dementia (R = -0.37, p = 0.04). Conclusion: While there is a clear relationship between the duration of Parkinson disease prior to the onset of dementia and key neuropathologic and neurochemical characteristics, there is a gradation of these differences across the dementia with Lewy bodies/Parkinson disease dementia spectrum and the findings do not support an arbitrary cut-off between the two disorders.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Ballard C, Ziabreva I, Perry R, Larsen JP, O'Brien J, McKeith I, Perry E, Aarsland D

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Neurology

Year: 2006

Volume: 67

Issue: 11

Pages: 1931-1934

ISSN (print): 0028-3878

ISSN (electronic): 1526-632X

Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000249130.63615.cc

DOI: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000249130.63615.cc

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