Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 10, 2026

Studying Pre-formed Fibril Induced α-Synuclein Accumulation in Primary Embryonic Mouse Midbrain Dopamine Neurons
Published on: August 16, 2020
Lewy body pathology in familial Alzheimer disease: evidence for disease- and mutation-specific pathologic phenotype
James B Leverenz1, Mark A Fishel, Elaine R Peskind
1Parkinson's Disease, Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Centers, Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, Wash, USA. leverenz@u.washington.edu
Background:
The origin and significance of Lewy bodies and neurites (Lewy body pathology [LBP]) in Alzheimer disease (AD) are poorly understood.
Objective:
To examine LBP in the brainstem, limbic cortex, and neocortex of a large number of familial AD cases with mutations in 2 presenilin (PSEN) genes.
Methods:
Twenty-five familial AD cases with 9 known PSEN 1 mutations and 14 familial AD cases with a single PSEN 2 mutation (N141I) were examined for LBP using alpha-synuclein immunohistochemistry and sampling of multiple brainstem and cortical regions.
Results:
The amygdala was the most vulnerable site for LBP. In fact, virtually all (24 [96%] of 25 cases) of the PSEN 1 mutation cases had LBP in the amygdala. The PSEN 1 mutation cases also had more frequent LBP in the amygdala and neocortex than those with the PSEN 2 mutation. However, within families with a single mutation of either PSEN 1 or PSEN 2, there was frequent variability of the LBP.
Conclusion:
These findings suggest that there are genetic influences on the presence of LBP in familial AD as demonstrated by the differences between PSEN 1 and PSEN 2 mutation cases.
Related Concept Videos
Alzheimer Disease ll: Pathophysiology
Alzheimer Disease l: Introduction
Parkinson Disease ll: Pathophysiology
Parkinson Disease l: Introduction
Alzheimer's Disease: Overview
The clinical diagnosis of AD hinges on the presence of memory and other cognitive impairments. Biomarkers, such as changes in Aβ and tau...
Amyloid Fibrils
Amyloid deposits were observed as early as 1639 in the liver and the spleen. In 1854, Rudolph Virchow performed iodine staining, normally used to...

