Giuseppe
Emeritus
[Source: Annals of Neurology, full text: (LINK). Abstract, edited.]
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Original Article
Substantia nigra depigmentation and exposure to encephalitis lethargica
Nawaz Hack MD<SUP>1</SUP>, Gregory A. Jicha MD, PhD<SUP>1,2,*</SUP>, Annalisa Abell<SUP>2</SUP>, Dawson Dean BS<SUP>2</SUP>, Jerrold L. Vitek MD, PhD<SUP>3</SUP>, Joseph R. Berger MD<SUP>1</SUP>
<SUP></SUP>
Article first published online: 31 DEC 2012 - DOI: 10.1002/ana.23697
Copyright ? 2012 American Neurological Association
Annals of Neurology - Volume 72, Issue 6, pages 912?917, December 2012 / Hack, N., Jicha, G. A., Abell, A., Dean, D., Vitek, J. L. and Berger, J. R. (2012), Substantia nigra depigmentation and exposure to encephalitis lethargica. Ann Neurol., 72: 912?917. doi: 10.1002/ana.23697
Author Information: <SUP>1</SUP>Department of Neurology, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY <SUP>2 </SUP>Sanders Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY <SUP>3</SUP>Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN - Email: Gregory A. Jicha MD, PhD (gajich2@email.uky.edu)
<SUP>*</SUP>Department of Neurology, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Kentucky Clinic L-445, 740 S. Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536-0284
Publication History: Issue published online: 31 DEC 2012 - Article first published online: 31 DEC 2012 - Accepted manuscript online: 18 JUL 2012 08:04AM EST - Manuscript Accepted: 15 JUN 2012 - Manuscript Revised: 9 JUN 2012 - Manuscript Received: 24 FEB 2012
Abstract
Objective:
Parkinsonism has occasionally been reported as a consequence of infectious diseases. The present study examines the clinical and pathological correlates of parkinsonism across birth cohorts in relation to critical exposure to the encephalitis lethargica epidemic in the early 1900s.
Methods:
The study population consisted of 678 participants in the Nun Study, of whom 432 died and came to autopsy. Qualitative indices of substantia nigra (SN) depigmentation were verified in a subset of 40 randomly selected subjects using quantitative stereological techniques. SN depigmentation, detected neuropathologically, was correlated with clinical parameters of Parkinson disease, age, and birth cohort.
Results:
SN depigmentation was detected in 57 (13.2%) of the cohort. Although qualitative SN depigmentation correlated modestly with age (p = 0.02), it correlated best with birth cohort (p = 0.009) for women born in the years 1895?1899. Quantitative measures of SN depigmentation were increased in this birth cohort compared to age matched subjects from flanking birth cohorts 1890?1894 and 1900?1904 (p < 0.001). SN depigmentation correlated with speed of 6- and 50-foot walk (p < 0.0001), up and go test (p < 0.0001), and hand coordination (p < 0.0001).
Interpretation:
Subjects in the birth cohort 1895?1899 would have been in their late teens and 20s at the onset and during the peak of the encephalitis lethargica epidemic. These were precisely the age ranges of persons who were most often affected by the illness. These data suggest the possibility that the coexistence of parkinsonism and SN depigmentation in this birth cohort may have resulted from the yet undetermined infectious agent responsible for encephalitis lethargica. ANN NEUROL 2012;72:912?917
-Substantia nigra depigmentation and exposure to encephalitis lethargica
Nawaz Hack MD<SUP>1</SUP>, Gregory A. Jicha MD, PhD<SUP>1,2,*</SUP>, Annalisa Abell<SUP>2</SUP>, Dawson Dean BS<SUP>2</SUP>, Jerrold L. Vitek MD, PhD<SUP>3</SUP>, Joseph R. Berger MD<SUP>1</SUP>
<SUP></SUP>
Article first published online: 31 DEC 2012 - DOI: 10.1002/ana.23697
Copyright ? 2012 American Neurological Association
Annals of Neurology - Volume 72, Issue 6, pages 912?917, December 2012 / Hack, N., Jicha, G. A., Abell, A., Dean, D., Vitek, J. L. and Berger, J. R. (2012), Substantia nigra depigmentation and exposure to encephalitis lethargica. Ann Neurol., 72: 912?917. doi: 10.1002/ana.23697
Author Information: <SUP>1</SUP>Department of Neurology, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY <SUP>2 </SUP>Sanders Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY <SUP>3</SUP>Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN - Email: Gregory A. Jicha MD, PhD (gajich2@email.uky.edu)
<SUP>*</SUP>Department of Neurology, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Kentucky Clinic L-445, 740 S. Limestone Street, Lexington, KY 40536-0284
Publication History: Issue published online: 31 DEC 2012 - Article first published online: 31 DEC 2012 - Accepted manuscript online: 18 JUL 2012 08:04AM EST - Manuscript Accepted: 15 JUN 2012 - Manuscript Revised: 9 JUN 2012 - Manuscript Received: 24 FEB 2012
Abstract
Objective:
Parkinsonism has occasionally been reported as a consequence of infectious diseases. The present study examines the clinical and pathological correlates of parkinsonism across birth cohorts in relation to critical exposure to the encephalitis lethargica epidemic in the early 1900s.
Methods:
The study population consisted of 678 participants in the Nun Study, of whom 432 died and came to autopsy. Qualitative indices of substantia nigra (SN) depigmentation were verified in a subset of 40 randomly selected subjects using quantitative stereological techniques. SN depigmentation, detected neuropathologically, was correlated with clinical parameters of Parkinson disease, age, and birth cohort.
Results:
SN depigmentation was detected in 57 (13.2%) of the cohort. Although qualitative SN depigmentation correlated modestly with age (p = 0.02), it correlated best with birth cohort (p = 0.009) for women born in the years 1895?1899. Quantitative measures of SN depigmentation were increased in this birth cohort compared to age matched subjects from flanking birth cohorts 1890?1894 and 1900?1904 (p < 0.001). SN depigmentation correlated with speed of 6- and 50-foot walk (p < 0.0001), up and go test (p < 0.0001), and hand coordination (p < 0.0001).
Interpretation:
Subjects in the birth cohort 1895?1899 would have been in their late teens and 20s at the onset and during the peak of the encephalitis lethargica epidemic. These were precisely the age ranges of persons who were most often affected by the illness. These data suggest the possibility that the coexistence of parkinsonism and SN depigmentation in this birth cohort may have resulted from the yet undetermined infectious agent responsible for encephalitis lethargica. ANN NEUROL 2012;72:912?917
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