Substance P-like immunoreactivity in brains with pathological features of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.
Substance P is found in both the basal ganglia and cerebral cortex in mammalian brain. In the present study postmortem concentrations of substance P-like immunoreactivity (SP-LI) were measured in the globus pallidus, substantia nigra and 22 cortical regions in a group of demented patients with neuropathological features of both Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), and from neurologically normal controls. There were no significant changes in the globus pallidus but concentrations were significantly reduced by 44% in the substantia nigra compacta in the PD patients. In cerebral cortex small (20-30%) significant reductions of SP-LI were found in the PD patients in 7 of 22 cortical regions examined. These results are similar to changes found in AD alone and provide further evidence that the dementia of PD is frequently related to the coincidence of PD and AD.
Clevens
R A
RA
Neurology Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston 02114.
Beal
M F
MF
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D013373:Substance P / Q000378:metabolism*
D013373:Substance P