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Microglia activation is related to substantia nigra echogenicity

  • Movement Disorders - Short communication
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Abstract

Hyperechogenicity of the substantia nigra (SN) is a sensitive marker for Parkinson’s disease (PD). Previously, a relation between SN echogenicity and iron as well as neuromelanin content could be described in 60 human brains. In the present study on a subset of 33 brains, SN echogenicity was found to be correlated with microglia activation (ρ = 0.46, p = 0.008) after correction for iron and neuromelanin content. These findings strengthen the hypothesis of a close pathophysiological connection between SN hyperechogenicity and PD pathology.

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Acknowledgment

This manuscript is dedicated to Georg Becker, who pioneered the method of transcranial sonography and was one of the leading characters to initiate the study presented here. His sudden death in a sports accident in 2003 is a great loss to the scientific community.

The study was funded by a research grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurodegeneration, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, and German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), University of Tübingen, Hoppe-Seyler-Str. 3, 72076, Tübingen, Germany

    D. Berg & J. Godau

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, NPF Center of Excellence Laboratories, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

    P. Riederer

  3. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

    M. Gerlach

  4. Centre for Neuropathology and Prion Research, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany

    T. Arzberger

Authors
  1. D. Berg
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  2. J. Godau
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  3. P. Riederer
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  4. M. Gerlach
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  5. T. Arzberger
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to D. Berg.

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Berg, D., Godau, J., Riederer, P. et al. Microglia activation is related to substantia nigra echogenicity. J Neural Transm 117, 1287–1292 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-010-0504-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-010-0504-6

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