Published in:
01-06-2009 | Correspondence
Purkinje cell axonal torpedoes are unrelated to advanced aging and likely reflect cerebellar injury
Authors:
Elan D. Louis, Phyllis L. Faust, Jean-Paul G. Vonsattel, Cordelia Erickson-Davis
Published in:
Acta Neuropathologica
|
Issue 6/2009
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Excerpt
Torpedoes, swellings of the proximal Purkinje cell axon, are thought to represent a cellular response to injury [
3]. They may occur in a variety of cerebellar disorders [
7]. Most recently, their numbers were noted to be six-times higher in essential tremor (ET) than control brains [
4]. Torpedoes are also often viewed as a cumulative phenomenon associated with advanced aging [
3,
4], yet there are surprisingly few supporting data. We quantified torpedoes in normal human cerebella spanning a considerable age range to assess whether torpedoes are a cumulative phenomenon of aging. These data help place the relative abundance of torpedoes in ET in context. …