| Substantia nigra and Parkinson's disease: a brief history of their long and intimate relationship. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 20481265 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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The substantia nigra was discovered in 1786 by F?lix Vicq d'Azyr, but it took more than a century before Paul Blocq and Georges Marinesco alluded to a possible link between this structure and Parkinson's disease. The insight came from the study of a tuberculosis patient admitted in Charcot's neurology ward at la Salp?tri?re because he was suffering from unilateral parkinsonian tremor. At autopsy, Blocq and Marinesco discovered an encapsulated tumor confined to the substantia nigra, contralateral to the affected side, and concluded that tremor in that particular case resulted from a midbrain lesion. This pioneering work, published in 1893, led Edouard Brissaud to formulate, in 1895, the hypothesis that the substantia nigra is the major pathological site in Parkinson's disease. Brissaud's hypothesis was validated in 1919 by Constantin Tr?tiakoff in a remarkable thesis summarizing a post-mortem study of the substantia nigra conducted in Marinesco's laboratory. Despite highly convincing evidence of nigral cell losses in idiopathic and post-encephalitic Parkinsonism, Tr?tiakoff's work raised considerable doubts among his colleagues, who believed that the striatum and pallidum were the preferential targets of parkinsonian degeneration. Tr?tiakoff's results were nevertheless confirmed by detailed neuropathological studies undertaken in the 1930s and by the discovery, in the 1960s, of the dopaminergic nature of the nigrostriatal neurons that degenerate in Parkinson's disease. These findings have strengthened the link between the substantia nigra and Parkinson's disease, but modern research has uncovered the multifaceted nature of this neurodegenerative disorder by identifying other brain structures and chemospecifc systems involved in its pathogenesis. |
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Authors:
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Martin Parent; Andr? Parent |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Historical Article; Journal Article; Portraits; Review |
Journal Detail:
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Title: The Canadian journal of neurological sciences. Le journal canadien des sciences neurologiques Volume: 37 ISSN: 0317-1671 ISO Abbreviation: Can J Neurol Sci Publication Date: 2010 May |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2010-05-20 Completed Date: 2010-06-10 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 0415227 Medline TA: Can J Neurol Sci Country: Canada |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 313-9 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Laval University School of Medicine, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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History, 18th Century History, 19th Century History, 20th Century Humans Neurology / history Neurons / pathology, ultrastructure Parkinson Disease / history*, pathology* Substantia Nigra / pathology* |
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