alpha-Synuclein and the Lewy body disorders

alpha -Synuclein has risen to prominence during the past 5 years because of its association with several neurodegenerative diseases that have come to be known as the synucleinopathies: The clinical phenotype of the synucleino pathies is variable, with the most common being parkinsonism, autonomic dys function, and dementia. Progress has been made in clinical, neuropathologic and biochemical characterization of the synucleinopathies and their differ entiation from other neurodegenerative disorders. At the molecular level, t he synucleinopathies have conformational and post-translational modificatio ns of synuclein that favor its fibrillization and aggregation in inclusions in neurons and glia. Whether inclusion body formation is an adaptive respo nse or is directly related to degeneration of neuronal and glial cells is a topic of current research. Curr Opin Neurol 14:423-432. (C) 2001 Lippincot t Williams & Wilkins.