title: An autopsy case of early ("minimal change") olivopontocerebellar atrophy (multiple system atrophy-cerebellar).
abstract: We report a 57-year-old woman with multiple system atrophy (MSA) of 15-month duration. The patient developed dysarthria, followed by impaired balance of gait, mild limb ataxia, and saccadic eye movement. A postmortem examination performed after she was found dead in a bathtub revealed neuronal loss restricted to the olivopontocerebellar system, being more severe in the pontine nucleus. Mild neuronal loss was also found in the anterior vermis and inferior olivary nucleus. Alpha-synuclein immunohistochemistry demonstrated widespread occurrence of glial cytoplasmic inclusions in the central nervous system, which were more numerous in the pontine base and cerebellar white matter. In contrast, neuronal alpha-synuclein accumulation was confined to the pontine and inferior olivary nuclei. The number of neuronal intranuclear inclusions was much higher than that of neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions. Moreover, alpha-synuclein accumulation was more severe in the neurites than in the cytoplasm or nucleus. This case demonstrates the early pattern of brain pathology in MSA-cerebellar (olivopontocerebellar atrophy).
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropathology, Institute of Brain Science, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, 5 Zaifu-cho, 036-8562, Hirosaki, Japan. koichi@cc.hirosaki-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wakabayashi
authors.forename: Fumiaki
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishie
authors.forename: Yoshinobu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Oyama
authors.forename: Aiichiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kurihara
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshimoto
authors.forename: Naohito
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kuroda
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D002479:Inclusion Bodies / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009849:Olivopontocerebellar Atrophies / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D051844:alpha-Synuclein / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D051844:alpha-Synuclein