Dementia – Lewy Bodies

Therapeutics in the Pipeline Targeting α-Synuclein for Parkinson’s Disease

A-Synuclein, Dementia - Lewy Bodies, Parkinson's Disease /

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder and the fastest growing neurologic disease in the world, yet no disease-modifying therapy is available for this disabling condition. Multiple lines of evidence implicate the protein α-synuclein (α-Syn) in the pathogenesis of PD, and as such, there is intense interest in targeting α-Syn for potential disease modification. α-Syn […]

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Bioactive lipids and their metabolism: new therapeutic opportunities for Parkinson’s disease

A-Synuclein, Dementia - Lewy Bodies, Non-Motor Symptoms, Parkinson's Disease, Pre-PD /

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurological disorder characterized by motor dysfunction, which can also be associated with non-motor symptoms. Its pathogenesis is thought to stem from a loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta and the formation of Lewy bodies containing aggregated α-synuclein. Recent works suggested that lipids might play a pivotal

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The role of cardiovascular autonomic failure in the differential diagnosis of α-synucleinopathies

A-Synuclein, Dementia - Lewy Bodies, Pre-PD /

The α-synucleinopathies comprise a group of adult-onset neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson’s disease (PD), multiple system atrophy (MSA), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB,) and — as a restricted non-motor form — pure autonomic failure (PAF). Neuropathologically, the α-synucleinopathies are characterized by aggregates of misfolded α-synuclein in the central and peripheral nervous system. Cardiovascular autonomic failure is

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Neuropathological evidence of body-first vs. brain-first Lewy body disease

A-Synuclein, Dementia - Lewy Bodies, Parkinson's Disease /

Aggregation of alpha-synuclein into inclusion bodies, termed Lewy pathology, is a defining feature of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). In the majority of post mortem cases, the distribution of Lewy pathology seems to follow two overarching patterns: a caudo-rostral pattern with relatively more pathology in the brainstem than in the telencephalon, and an amygdala-centered pattern with the most

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Association between CSF alpha-synuclein seeding activity and genetic status in Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies

A-Synuclein, Biomarkers, Dementia - Lewy Bodies, Parkinson's Disease, Pre-PD /

The clinicopathological heterogeneity in Lewy-body diseases (LBD) highlights the need for pathology-driven biomarkers in-vivo. Misfolded alpha-synuclein (α-Syn) is a lead candidate based on its crucial role in disease pathophysiology. Real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) analysis of CSF has recently shown high sensitivity and specificity for the detection of misfolded α-Syn in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and

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A New Kind of Pathogen – The prion-like pathology of amyloid fibrils in Parkinson’s disease

A-Synuclein, Dementia - Lewy Bodies, Gut-Brain axis, Olfactory, Parkinson's Disease, Pre-PD, Vagal Nerve /

This chapter contrasts the prion-like behavior of alphasynuclein in Parkinson’s disease with other prion diseases.In prion diseases, the infectious, amyloid form of theprotein induces the corresponding normally folded proteinto assume the toxic fold, spreading the disease and slowlydestroying the brains of infected patients. Lewy pathologyin Parkinson’s disease appears to spread in a mannersimilar to that

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Oral Dysbiosis and Alzheimer’s Disease Risk

Dementia - Lewy Bodies, Gut Dysbiosis, Periodontitis /

The oral microbiome is implicated in many systemic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, respiratory infections, and cognitive decline, with the common link between them being inflammation.1-4 A connection between oral health, inflammation, and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has long been speculated, and recent findings have suggested that chronic bacterial infections from

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Olfactory dysfunction in aging and neurodegenerative diseases

Biomarkers, Dementia - Lewy Bodies, Olfactory /

The establishment of biomarkers that promote early risk identification is critical for the implementation of early treatment to postpone or avert pathological development. Olfactory dysfunction (OD) is seen in 90% of early-stage PD patients and 85% of patients with early-stage AD, which makes it an attractive biomarker for early diagnosis of these diseases. Here, we

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REM Sleep Behavior Disorder as a Pathway to Dementia: If, When, How, What, and Why Should Physicians Disclose the Diagnosis and Risk for Dementia

Dementia - Lewy Bodies, Parkinson's Disease, Pre-PD /

We provide an approach to risk disclosure for patients with iRBD. Patients should be asked if they want to know about future risks. If so, disclosure should be patient centered, focusing on what might happen. Discussion should occur early to give patients time to prepare for the future and consider participating in research. CLICK TO

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