The relationship between Parkinson syndrome and vascular siderosis: an electron microprobe study

Vascular siderosis (VS) refers to the presence of mineralized small and medium-sized arteries in the globus pallidus, usually regarded as reflecting an aging process. The electron probe analysis of deposits in vascular siderosis in 10 patients dying of parkinsonism and in 8 other patients without parkinsonism is reported here. The microprobes identified a total of 11 elements in the VS in these 18 patients. Five elements--lead, aluminum, sulfur, manganese, and barium--were present only in VS associated with parkinsonism. Statistically, the association of lead was highly significant while that of aluminum and sulfur in 4. The significance of the presence of sulfur is difficult to assess since its compounds are normally present in large quantities in the brain. These findings raise the question whether lead and aluminum may be associated in some way with the pathogenesis of certain forms of Parkinson disease.