Parkinson's disease: the presence of Lewy bodies in Auerbach's and Meissner's plexuses
Abstract
We systematically studied the enteric nervous system of the alimentary tract in seven patients with Parkinson's disease. In all patients, characteristic inclusions histologically and ultrastructurally identical to Lewy bodies were found in Auerbach's and Meissner's plexuses. They were most frequent in the Auerbach's plexus of the lower esophagus. Lewy bodies were found in 8 out of 24 age-matched nonparkinsonian patients. However, they were obviously small in number. These findings clearly indicate that the plexuses are also involved in Parkinson's disease.
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Since the 1960s, multiple post-mortems and immunohistochemical studies have identified α-synuclein in the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and enteric nervous system up to 20 years before PD diagnosis.
“Since the 1960s, multiple post-mortems and immunohistochemical studies have identified α-synuclein in the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and enteric nervous system up to 20 years before PD diagnosis [61, 62].”
From The gut–brain axis in early Parkinson’s disease: from prodrome to prevention (2025) · cites this paper as [62]
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- Authors
- Wakabayashi, K., Takahashi, H., Takeda, S., Ohama, E., & Ikuta, F.
- Affiliations
- Niigata University (JP)
- Brain Research Institute, Niigata University (JP)
- Venue
- Acta Neuropathologica
- Published
- 1988
- Volume
- 76
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 217-221
- ISSN
- 0001-6322 (ISSN-L)
- 1432-0533
- OpenAlex
- W2022170924
- Cited by
- 528
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 30 · 2021: 38 · 2020: 29 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 24 · 2017: 25 · 2016: 38 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 22 · 2013: 21 · 2012: 24
- FWCI
- 3.33
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Acta Neuropathologica (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Parkinson's Disease Mechanisms and Treatments
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Gastroenterology › Gastrointestinal motility and disorders
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Neurological disorders and treatments
- Keywords
- Parkinson's disease, Lewy bodies, myenteric plexus, submucosal plexus, enteric nervous system, esophagus, gastrointestinal involvement, ultrastructure
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Inclusion Bodies, Female, Humans, Male, Microscopy, Electron, Middle Aged, Myenteric Plexus, Neurons, Parkinson Disease, Submucous Plexus
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