Brain Advance Access originally published online on August 5, 2003
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brain, Vol. 126, No. 10, 2183-2190,
October 2003
© 2003 Guarantors of Brain
doi: 10.1093/brain/awg220
Depletion of ventromedullary NK-1 receptor-immunoreactive neurons in multiple system atrophy
Departments of 1 Neurology and 2 Anatomic Pathology, Mayo Foundation, Rochester, MN, USA
Correspondence to: Eduardo E. Benarroch, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55904, USA E-mail: benarroch{at}mayo.edu
We sought to determine whether there are neurokinin-1 receptor-like-immunoreactive (NK-1R-LI) neurons in human ventrolateral medulla and whether these neurons are more severely involved in multiple system atrophy (MSA) than in Parkinson’s disease. Brains were obtained at autopsy from six control subjects, six subjects with clinical diagnosis of MSA and four with Parkinson’s disease, both confirmed neuropathologically. Serial 50 µm cryostat sections were obtained throughout the medulla, and every eighth section was processed for NK-1R-LI neurons. Some sections were processed simultaneously for tyrosine hydroxylase or choline acetyltransferase. Abundant NK-1R-LI neurons were identified in the ventrolateral medulla. These neurons were distinct from local cholinergic or catecholaminergic neurons. There was a severe depletion of these NK-1R-LI neurons in all MSA cases compared with controls (6 ± 1 cells/section versus 49 ± 2 cells/section in controls). Although there was also a reduction in Parkinson’s disease (20 ± 2 cells/section), this was significantly less severe than in MSA. Our findings suggest that the human ventrolateral medulla contains NK-1R-LI neurons, and the more severe depletion in MSA than in Parkinson’s disease may explain the higher incidence of respiratory and cardiovascular abnormalities in the former condition.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  L. C. McKay and J. L. Feldman Unilateral Ablation of Pre-Botzinger Complex Disrupts Breathing during Sleep but Not Wakefulness Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., July 1, 2008; 178(1): 89 - 95. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 K. Jin, S. Okabe, K. Chida, N. Abe, T. Kimpara, A. Ohnuma, H. Nomura, Y. Itoyama, and H. Onodera Tracheostomy can fatally exacerbate sleep-disordered breathing in multiple system atrophy Neurology, May 8, 2007; 68(19): 1618 - 1621. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 E. Nattie and A. Li Neurokinin-1 receptor-expressing neurons in the ventral medulla are essential for normal central and peripheral chemoreception in the conscious rat J Appl Physiol, December 1, 2006; 101(6): 1596 - 1606. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 G. A. Glass, K. A. Josephs, and J. E. Ahlskog Respiratory insufficiency as the primary presenting symptom of multiple-system atrophy. Arch Neurol, July 1, 2006; 63(7): 978 - 981. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|