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Published in: Acta Neuropathologica 2/2005

01-08-2005 | Case Report

An autopsy case of early (“minimal change”) olivopontocerebellar atrophy (multiple system atrophy-cerebellar)

Authors: Koichi Wakabayashi, Fumiaki Mori, Makoto Nishie, Yoshinobu Oyama, Aiichiro Kurihara, Makoto Yoshimoto, Naohito Kuroda

Published in: Acta Neuropathologica | Issue 2/2005

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Abstract

We report a 57-year-old woman with multiple system atrophy (MSA) of 15-month duration. The patient developed dysarthria, followed by impaired balance of gait, mild limb ataxia, and saccadic eye movement. A postmortem examination performed after she was found dead in a bathtub revealed neuronal loss restricted to the olivopontocerebellar system, being more severe in the pontine nucleus. Mild neuronal loss was also found in the anterior vermis and inferior olivary nucleus. α-Synuclein immunohistochemistry demonstrated widespread occurrence of glial cytoplasmic inclusions in the central nervous system, which were more numerous in the pontine base and cerebellar white matter. In contrast, neuronal α-synuclein accumulation was confined to the pontine and inferior olivary nuclei. The number of neuronal intranuclear inclusions was much higher than that of neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions. Moreover, α-synuclein accumulation was more severe in the neurites than in the cytoplasm or nucleus. This case demonstrates the early pattern of brain pathology in MSA-cerebellar (olivopontocerebellar atrophy).
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Metadata
Title
An autopsy case of early (“minimal change”) olivopontocerebellar atrophy (multiple system atrophy-cerebellar)
Authors
Koichi Wakabayashi
Fumiaki Mori
Makoto Nishie
Yoshinobu Oyama
Aiichiro Kurihara
Makoto Yoshimoto
Naohito Kuroda
Publication date
01-08-2005
Publisher
Springer-Verlag
Published in
Acta Neuropathologica / Issue 2/2005
Print ISSN: 0001-6322
Electronic ISSN: 1432-0533
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-005-1029-1

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