The Lewy body in Parkinson's disease

Abstract

In this brief overview three problems regarding Lewy bodies have been taken up for discussion: the specificity of the Lewy bodies, the extranigral sites for the inclusions, and the variable morphology and composition of the bodies in different portions of the nervous system. These questions go to the heart of the problem of nerve cell degeneration in Parkinson's disease. The question about the specificity of Lewy bodies has been answered in the affirmative. It therefore is worthwhile to examine the Lewy bodies, find out what they are composed of, and what molecular events precede and accompany their formation. Once we know that, will we be able to prevent Lewy bodies from forming? And if Lewy bodies do not form, will we then have no substantia nigra degeneration and no Parkinson's disease? Perhaps that is too much to expect from Lewy's peculiar cellular inclusions.