Lewy body pathology in normal elderly subjects

William R. Markesbery, Gregory A. Jicha, Huaichen Liu, Frederick A. Schmitt

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

161 Scopus citations

Abstract

Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites are the hallmark neuropathologic findings in Parkinson disease, Parkinson disease with dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, and other α-synucleinopathies. They have also been described in the brains of normal older individuals and referred to as incidental Lewy body disease. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites (Lewy body pathology [LBP]) in 139 autopsies from our normal volunteer control group of the University of Kentucky Alzheimer's Disease Center. All subjects were followed longitudinally and were cognitively normal and without any type of movement disorder, neuropsychiatric features, or other CNS findings. The brains of 33 of 139 normal subjects contained LBP in various regions. The most common regions involved were the medulla (26%), amygdala (24%), pons (20%), and midbrain (20%). No mean statistical differences were found between those with and without LBP on any demographic or cognitive variable, Braak stage, or neurofibrillary tangle and neuritic plaque quantitation. An explanation for the high prevalence of LBP in our elderly, well-educated study group is not clear, although it does not seem to be related to aging or the presence of Alzheimer disease pathology. Overall, our findings support the concept that incidental Lewy body disease most likely represents preclinical or presymptomatic Parkinson disease, Parkinson disease with dementia, or dementia with Lewy bodies.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)816-822
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology
Volume68
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2009

Keywords

  • Aging
  • Lewy bodies
  • Lewy neurites
  • α-synucleinopathies

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pathology and Forensic Medicine
  • Neurology
  • Clinical Neurology
  • Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

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