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BRAIN CELL LOSS IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE

JAMA Neurology [2013] 70 (2) : 241-247 (D.A.Ziegler, J.S.Wonderlick, P.Ashourian, L.A.Hansen, J.C.Young, A.J. Murphy, C.K.Koppuzha, J.H.Growdon, S.Corkin) Complete abstract

For many years it has been widely claimed that, in Parkinson's Disease, there is a huge loss of the dopaminergic neurons (the brain cells that produce dopamine). It is often claimed that this cell loss is the primary cause of Parkinson's Disease. However, not a single study had ever actually shown that there was massive cell loss in Parkinson's Disease. It has also been assumed that loss of the dopaminergic neurons that can cause Parkinson's Disease precedes the loss of cholinergic neurons, which can lead to dementia, as is common in later Parkinson's Disease. However, the results of a study assessing this theory did not support what had often been claimed.