Dopamine cell loss in the periaqueductal gray in multiple system atrophy and Lewy body dementia.

BACKGROUND: Experimental studies indicate that dopaminergic neurons in the ventral periaqueductal gray matter (PAG) are involved in maintenance of wakefulness. Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is a common manifestation of multiple system atrophy (MSA) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) but involvement of these neurons has not yet been explored.

METHODS: We sought to determine whether there is loss of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral PAG in MSA and DLB. We studied the midbrain obtained at autopsy from 12 patients (9 male, 3 female, age 61 +/- 3) with neuropathologically confirmed MSA, 12 patients (11 male, 1 female, age 79 +/- 4) with diagnosis of DLB and limbic or neocortical Lewy body disease, and 12 controls (7 male, 5 female, ages 67 +/- 4). Fifty-micron sections were immunostained for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) or alpha-synuclein and costained with thionin. Cell counts were performed every 400 mum throughout the ventral PAG using stereologic techniques.

RESULTS: Compared to the total estimated cell numbers in controls (21,488 +/- 8,324 cells), there was marked loss of TH neurons in the ventral PAG in both MSA (11,727 +/- 5,984; p < 0.01) and DLB (5,163 +/- 1,926; p < 0.001) cases. Cell loss was more marked in DLB than in MSA. There were characteristic alpha-synuclein inclusions in the ventral PAG in both MSA and DLB.

CONCLUSIONS: There is loss of putative wake-active ventral periaqueductal gray matter dopaminergic neurons in both multiple system atrophy and dementia with Lewy bodies, which may contribute to excessive daytime sleepiness in these conditions.