title: Pathoanatomy of cerebellar degeneration in spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2) and type 3 (SCA3).
abstract: The cerebellum is one of the well-known targets of the pathological processes underlying spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2) and type 3 (SCA3). Despite its pivotal role for the clinical pictures of these polyglutamine ataxias, no pathoanatomical studies of serial tissue sections through the cerebellum have been performed in SCA2 and SCA3 so far. Detailed pathoanatomical data are an important prerequisite for the identification of the initial events of the underlying disease processes of SCA2 and SCA3 and the reconstruction of its spread through the brain. In the present study, we performed a pathoanatomical investigation of serial thick tissue sections through the cerebellum of clinically diagnosed and genetically confirmed SCA2 and SCA3 patients. This study demonstrates that the cerebellar Purkinje cell layer and all four deep cerebellar nuclei consistently undergo considerable neuronal loss in SCA2 and SCA3. These cerebellar findings contribute substantially to the pathogenesis of clinical symptoms (i.e., dysarthria, intention tremor, oculomotor dysfunctions) of SCA2 and SCA3 patients and may facilitate the identification of the initial pathological alterations of the pathological processes of SCA2 and SCA3 and reconstruction of its spread through the brain.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Neuroanatomy, Dr. Senckenberg Anatomy, Goethe-University, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Scherzed
authors.forename: E R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Brunt
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Heinsen
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: de Vos
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Seidel
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bürk
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schöls
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Auburger
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Del Turco
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Deller
authors.forename: H W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Korf
authors.forename: W F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: den Dunnen
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Rüb
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000483:Alleles; D001284:Atrophy; D002525:Cerebellar Cortex / Q000473:pathology; D002529:Cerebellar Nuclei / Q000473:pathology; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009186:Myelin Sheath / Q000473:pathology; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000473:pathology*; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000473:pathology; D020754:Spinocerebellar Ataxias / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D055815:Young Adult