Home › Research › Lewy body dementia
Multi-organ distribution of phosphorylated alpha-synuclein histopathology in subjects with Lewy body disorders
Beach TG, Adler CH, Sue LI, Vedders L, Lue L, White Iii CL, Akiyama H, Caviness JN et al.. Acta neuropathologica, 2010-03-21
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
A sensitive immunohistochemical method for phosphorylated alpha-synuclein was used to stain sets of sections of spinal cord and tissue from 41 different sites in the bodies of 92 subjects, including 23 normal elderly, 7 with incidental Lewy body disease (ILBD), 17 with Parkinson's disease (PD), 9 with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), 19 with Alzheimer's disease with Lewy bodies (ADLB) and 17 with Alzheimer's disease with no Lewy bodies (ADNLB). The relative densities and frequencies of occurrence of phosphorylated alpha-synuclein histopathology (PASH) were tabulated and correlated with diagnostic category. The greatest densities and frequencies of PASH occurred in the spinal cord, followed by the paraspinal sympathetic ganglia, the vagus nerve, the gastrointestinal tract and endocrine organs. The frequency of PASH within other organs and tissue types was much lower. Spinal cord and peripheral PASH was most common in subjects with PD and DLB, where it appears likely that it is universally widespread. Subjects with ILBD had lesser densities of PASH within all regions, but had frequent involvement of the spinal cord and paraspinal sympathetic ganglia, with less-frequent involvement of end-organs. Subjects with ADLB had infrequent involvement of the spinal cord and paraspinal sympathetic ganglia with rare involvement of end-organs. Within the gastrointestinal tract, there was a rostrocaudal gradient of decreasing PASH frequency and density, with the lower esophagus and submandibular gland having the greatest involvement and the colon and rectum the lowest.
Key findings
- The frequency of PASH within other organs and tissue types was much lower.
- Spinal cord and peripheral PASH was most common in subjects with PD and DLB, where it appears likely that it is universally widespread.
- Subjects with ILBD had lesser densities of PASH within all regions, but had frequent involvement of the spinal cord and paraspinal sympathetic ganglia, with less-frequent involvement of end-organs.
- Subjects with ADLB had infrequent involvement of the spinal cord and paraspinal sympathetic ganglia with rare involvement of end-organs.
- Within the gastrointestinal tract, there was a rostrocaudal gradient of decreasing PASH frequency and density, with the lower esophagus and submandibular gland having the greatest involvement and the colon and rectum the lowest.
Why it matters
This tissue study found that clumps of phosphorylated alpha-synuclein are widespread in the spinal cord and peripheral organs in people with Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies, and less so in other conditions. It describes where this pathology occurs but does not test any treatment or prevention.
Study details
- Participants92
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 58/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Acta neuropathologica) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Acta Neuropathologica: journal h-index 287 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2010 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 92 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 912 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 50.7 citations a year over 18 year(s) since 2010 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 19.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 16 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 144 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Douglas G. Walker: h-index 71 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Mayo Clinic: institution h-index 1,606 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 20306269) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 58 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Beach, T. G., Adler, C. H., Sue, L. I., Vedders, L., Lue, L., White Iii, C. L., et al. (2010). Multi-organ distribution of phosphorylated alpha-synuclein histopathology in subjects with Lewy body disorders. Acta neuropathologica. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-010-0664-3
Vancouver
Beach TG, Adler CH, Sue LI, Vedders L, Lue L, White Iii CL, et al. Multi-organ distribution of phosphorylated alpha-synuclein histopathology in subjects with Lewy body disorders. Acta neuropathologica. 2010. doi:10.1007/s00401-010-0664-3. PMID: 20306269.
BibTeX
@article{beach2010-20306269,
author = {Beach, T. G. and Adler, C. H. and Sue, L. I. and Vedders, L. and Lue, L. and White Iii, C. L. and Akiyama, H. and Caviness, J. N. and others},
title = {{Multi-organ distribution of phosphorylated alpha-synuclein histopathology in subjects with Lewy body disorders}},
journal = {Acta neuropathologica},
year = {2010},
doi = {10.1007/s00401-010-0664-3},
pmid = {20306269},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-010-0664-3}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 14.
Later studies that cite this one
16 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references. Showing the 8 highest-scoring.
Related studies in Lewy body dementia
Also tagged “bodies”
1,017 studies in the library carry the topic tag “bodies”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,017 tagged studies.