title: Lewy bodies under atomic force microscope.
abstract: Lewy bodies are the hallmark of Parkinson disease and their sophisticated analysis will undoubtedly elucidate the pathogenic process. They have been studied by using different microscopic tools. The authors have used atomic force microscopy (AFM) to study the ultramicrotom cut postmortem brain tissue of Parkinson disease patients. Under the same preparation conditions, they have found aggregated fibrillary nanostructures in Lewy bodies, as well as a loss of connections between neurons located in other parts of the substantia nigra. Although these results are preliminary and descriptive in nature, this paper reports the application of a novel and intriguing technique. Further studies including the study of cortical LB and Lewy neurites will be needed to determine the full potential of AFM in the study of the pathogenesis of cell death in Parkinson disease and other synucleinopathies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of the Basque Country , Spain .
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tercjak
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bergareche
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caballero
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tuñon
authors.forename: Gurutz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Linazasoro
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D006801:Humans; D016631:Lewy Bodies / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008297:Male; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force / Q000379:methods*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000473:pathology*