AN IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL STUDY ON MANGANESE SUPEROXIDE-DISMUTASE IN PARKINSONS-DISEASE

We report an immunohistochemical study on manganese superoxide dismuta se (Mn SOD) in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and age-matched contr ol subjects. Overall appearance of immunostaining intensity of nigral neurons did not differ significantly between the PD patients and the c ontrol subjects. However, when the immunostaining intensity of each ne uron was semiquantitatively analyzed, both very intensely stained (mor e than normal) neurons as well as neurons stained only weakly were mor e frequently detected in the lateral part than in the medial and the c entral parts of the substantia nigra in PD patients. As a result, the proportion of normally stained neurons was significantly smaller in th e lateral part of the substantia nigra in PD patients; however, the ov erall distribution of the neurons among the three rating grades for im munostaining did not differ significantly. The immunostaining intensit y of the neuropils in the medial and the central part of the substanti a nigra tended to be more intense in PD patients than in the control s ubjects. Our results suggest up-regulation of Mn SOD mainly in the den dritic processes of the less involved nigral neurons. (C) 1997 Elsevie r Science B.V.