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Dentate Nucleus Neuronal Density: A Postmortem Study of Essential Tremor Versus Control Brains
Whitney G Hartstone1, Mark H Brown1, Geoffrey C Kelly1
1Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, New York, USA.
Summary
Essential tremor (ET) does not cause neuronal loss in the dentate nucleus. This study found no difference in neuronal density or number in the dentate nucleus of ET patients compared to controls.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neuropathology
Background:
- Essential tremor (ET) is a neurological disorder primarily affecting the cerebellum.
- Quantitative analysis of dentate nucleus neurons in ET has been lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare neuronal density and number in the dentate nucleus between ET cases and age-matched controls.
Main Methods:
- Histological analysis of Luxol fast blue and H&E stained sections from 25 ET cases and 25 controls.
- Stereological methods were used to estimate total neuronal number in a subset of participants.
Main Results:
- No significant difference in dentate nucleus neuronal density was observed between ET cases and controls (P=0.44).
- Total neuronal number in the dentate nucleus did not differ between groups (P=0.95), although it correlated with neuronal density (P=0.007).
Conclusions:
- Despite Purkinje cell loss in ET, the dentate nucleus does not appear to be affected by neuronal loss.
- These findings suggest that the dentate nucleus may be spared in essential tremor.
