Striato-nigral degeneration. Report of a case with an unusually short course and multiple system degenerations

A 50-year-old white woman with an 8-month history of Parkinson's syndrome which did not respond to levodopa therapy was found on pathological examination to have the topographical lesions of striato-nigral degeneration. In addition to those characteristic lesions, an associated degeneration of the optic pathways, from the level of the optic nerve to the geniculo-collicular fibers, of the corticospinal tract and of the olivo-dentate axis, were found. While offering further evidence for the concept of "multiple system degeneration", no pathogenetic relationship either to previous cases of striato-nigral degeneration or to other multiple system degenerations is implied.