Journal of Movement Disorders

Brief communication

Sensitivity of Detecting Alpha-Synuclein Accumulation in the Gastrointestinal Tract and Tissue Volume Examined: Chaewon Shin, Seong-Ik Kim, Sung-Hye Park, Jung Hwan Shin, Chan Young Lee, Han-Kwang Yang, Hyuk-Joon Lee, Seong-Ho Kong, Yun-Suhk Suh, Han-Joon Kim, Beomseok Jeon; J Mov Disord. 2022;15(3):264-268. Published online July 26, 2022; DOI: https://doi.org/10.14802/jmd.22042

Abstract PDF Supplementary Material: Objective
This study aimed to evaluate whether a larger tissue volume increases the sensitivity of detecting alpha-synuclein (AS) pathology in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
Methods
Nine patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) or idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep disorder (iRBD) who underwent GI operation and had full-depth intestinal blocks were included. All patients were selected from our previous study population. A total of 10 slides (5 serial sections from the proximal and distal blocks) per patient were analyzed.
Results
In previous studies, pathologic evaluation revealed phosphorylated AS (+) in 5/9 patients (55.6%) and in 1/5 controls (20.0%); in this extensive examination, this increased to 8/9 patients (88.9%) but remained the same in controls (20.0%). The severity and distribution of positive findings were similar between patients with iRBD and PD.
Conclusion
Examining a large tissue volume increased the sensitivity of detecting AS accumulation in the GI tract.

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