Assessment of alpha-synuclein in submandibular glands of patients with idiopathic rapid-eye-movement sleep behaviour disorder: a case-control study

摘要

Background The histological feature of Parkinson's disease is the presence of intraneuronal aggregates of phosphorylated alpha-synuclein (alpha Syn). In patients with Parkinson's disease, deposits of aSyn are found in the autonomic nerve fibres of the submandibular gland. Since patients with idiopathic rapid-eye-movement sleep behaviour disorder (IRBD) can develop Parkinson's disease and other synucleinopathies, we investigated whether aSyn deposits could also be detected in their submandibular gland nerve fibres.