Lewy bodies

Lewy bodies are mostly comprised of abnormal, misfolded protein, and are found in the nerve cells of most patients with PD.^1,5 The function of Lewy bodies in the pathogenesis of PD is still unclear, as they have been associated with both neuroprotection and toxicity.⁶ It may be the case that functionally different Lewy bodies exist, which differ in their localisation and morphology.⁶

Although strongly associated with PD, Lewy bodies can be detected in a proportion of people who die without having experienced any obvious neurological problems (so called ‘incidental Lewy body disease’).¹ The distinguishing feature of PD in many cases, is the distinctive pattern of that this Lewy body pathology spreads through the brain.¹

References:
1.Lees AJ, Hardy J, Revesz T. Parkinson’s disease. Lancet 2009; 373 (9680): 2055–2066.

2.Höglinger GU, Adler CH, Berg D, et al. A biological classification of Parkinson’s disease: the SynNeurGe research diagnostic criteria. Lancet Neurol 2024; 23 (2): 191–204.

3.Berg D, Postuma RB, Bloem B, et al. Time to redefine PD? Introductory statement of the MDS Task Force on the definition of Parkinson’s disease. Mov Disord 2014; 29 (4): 454–462.

4.Koga S, Sekiya H, Kondru N, et al. Neuropathology and molecular diagnosis of synucleinopathies. Mol Neurodegener 2021; 16 (1): 83.

5.Ropper AH, Samuels MA, Klein JP. Adams and Victor’s Principles of Neurology, 10th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Education, 2014.

6.Raiss CC, Braun TS, Konings IBM, et al. Functionally different α-synuclein inclusions yield insight into Parkinson’s disease pathology. Sci Reports 2016; 6: 23116.