Chapter 16 - Lewy bodies in the olfactory system and the hypothalamus

Abstract

Lewy bodies are intraneuronal eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions, and their presence in the specific areas of the central nervous system defines the so-called Lewy body disorders such as Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. The protein alpha-synuclein is the major component of Lewy bodies and there is evidence suggesting that it is capable of spreading from cell to cell within the central nervous system thereby propagating the pathological process. The olfactory system, particularly the olfactory bulb, is almost always affected in Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. Moreover, in Parkinson's disease, the olfactory bulb is involved by Lewy pathology at very early stages of the disease. The hypothalamus is also compromised by Lewy pathology in the course of Parkinson's disease; however, unlike the olfactory system in which most regions of the primary olfactory cortex become affected, there is a selective vulnerability of certain hypothalamic regions including the tuberomamillary nucleus, the lateral tuberal nucleus, and orexin/hypocretin neurons, while other nuclear groups remain free of Lewy pathology even in the advanced stages of the disease.