Dopamine transporter immunoreactivity in peripheral blood lymphocytes discriminates Parkinson's disease from essential tremor.
Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) provide a model to study the changes of neurotransmitter-receptor systems in neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson's disease (PD). In this study, densitometric analysis was applied to measure dopamine transporter (DAT) immunoreactivity in PBL from dopaminergic drug-free patients suffering PD or essential tremor (ET) with respect to healthy subjects. The results showed a significant reduction of DAT immunoreactivity in PBL in PD but not in ET. These finding suggests that DAT immunoreactivity in PBL may discriminate between PD and ET in the early clinical stages.
Pellicano
C
C
Department of Neurological Sciences, University La Sapienza, Rome, Italy.
Buttarelli
F R
FR
Circella
A
A
Tiple
D
D
Giovannelli
M
M
Benincasa
D
D
Colosimo
C
C
Pontieri
F E
FE
D000368:Aged; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D020329:Essential Tremor / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology
D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins