Günter U Höglinger, Daniel Alvarez-Fischer, Oscar Arias-Carrión, Miriam Djufri, Andrea Windolph, Ursula Keber, Andreas Borta, Vincent Ries, Rainer K W Schwarting, Dieter Scheller, Wolfgang H Oertel
Parkinson disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by massive loss of midbrain dopaminergic neurons. Whereas onset of motor impairments reflects a rather advanced stage of the disorder, hyposmia often marks the beginning of the disease. Little is known about the role of the nigro-striatal system in olfaction under physiological conditions and the anatomical basis of hyposmia in PD. Yet, the early occurrence of olfactory dysfunction implies that pathogens such as environmental toxins could incite the disease via the olfactory system...
September 2015: Acta Neuropathologica