Objective: To determine the role vascular degeneration in human Parkinson’s disease (PD).

Background: We have previously reported endothelial degeneration in the PD. Current study examined the changes of the basement membrane, pericytes, angiogenesis, vascular regeneration and their association with vascular and neuronal degeneration in PD diseases.

Methods: The study used the post-mortem human brain from PD, age-matched control and young control cases. Immunohistochemical staining of collagen IV for basement membrane, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)βR for pericytes, neuronal nuclear antigen (NeuN) for neurons, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) for vascular related proliferations, Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) for angiogenesis, and phosphorylated insulin-like growth factor -1 (IGF1Rp) were observed and quantitatively analysed using image analysis programmes.

Results: Overall basement-membrane density was similar between the two groups. The density of string vessels increased in PD brains (p=0.0331). Compared to the controls, the density of pericyte-associated blood vessels (p=0.0416) and neurons (p=0.0101) were reduced in PD. The density (cells/mm²) of VEGF-positive cells (p=0.0164) and capillary associated PCNA-positive cells (p=0.0426) in PD were also reduced. Although the reduction of the vascular IGF1Rp-positive cells (approximately 30% reduced in average density) did not show a statistical significance in PD, it has a strong linear correlation with the density of vascular PCNA-positive cells which correlated with the pericytic changes.

Conclusions: These results suggest that the basement membranes of the capillaries retained in PD, and increased string vessel formation in PD was a result of endothelial cell degeneration which might be resulted from the loss of trophic support from IGF-1 leading to impaired vascular remodelling. Hypoperfusion may play a role in the neuronal degeneration of PD. References: Guan J, Pavlovic D, Darkie N, Waldvigel H, Green C and Nicholson L. Vascular degeneration of Parkinson’s disease. Brain Pathology 23(2) 154-164 doi: 10.1111/j.1750-3639.2012628).

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/vascular-degeneration-in-parkinsons-disease/