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Mossy fiber involvement in progressive supranuclear palsy
1Department of Anatomy, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Theodor Stern Kai 7, D-60590 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Acta Neuropathologica
|September 29, 1999
Summary
Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) involves abnormal tau protein in the cerebellum, affecting both input and output systems. This pathology is distinct from Alzheimer's disease and healthy aging.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neuropathology
Background:
- Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a neurodegenerative disease.
- The cerebellar pathology in PSP is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the characteristic pathology in the cerebellar cortex of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) cases.
- To compare PSP cerebellar pathology with healthy aging and Alzheimer's disease.
Main Methods:
- Histopathological examination of cerebellar tissue from 11 PSP cases.
- Immunohistochemical analysis for abnormal and hyperphosphorylated tau protein.
Main Results:
- Altered mossy fiber excrescences containing abnormal, hyperphosphorylated tau protein were found in all PSP cases.
- Abnormal tau material was also present in cerebellar oligodendrocytes.
- The observed pathology was distinct from healthy aged individuals and Alzheimer's disease cases.
Conclusions:
- PSP involves not only the destruction of the cerebellar output system but also the involvement of the cerebellar input system.
- The presence of abnormal tau in cerebellar oligodendrocytes highlights a specific pathological feature of PSP.