Department of Physiology, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Alicante, 03690, San Vicente del Raspeig, Spain.
Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, AZ, 85351, USA.
Acta Neuropathol Commun. 2018 Sep 10;6(1):90. doi: 10.1186/s40478-018-0596-z.
Parkinson's disease (PD) patients often suffer from non-motor symptoms like sleep dysregulation, mood disturbances or circadian rhythms dysfunction. The melanopsin-containing retinal ganglion cells are involved in the control and regulation of these processes and may be affected in PD, as other retinal and visual implications have been described in the disease. Number and morphology of human melanopsin-containing retinal ganglion cells were evaluated by immunohistochemistry in eyes from donors with PD or control. The Sholl number of intersections, the number of branches, and the number of terminals from the Sholl analysis were significantly reduced in PD melanopsin ganglion cells. Also, the density of these cells significantly decreased in PD compared to controls. Degeneration and impairment of the retinal melanopsin system may affect to sleep and circadian dysfunction reported in PD pathology, and its protection or stimulation may lead to better disease prospect and global quality of life of patients.
帕金森病（PD）患者常伴有睡眠失调、情绪紊乱或昼夜节律功能障碍等非运动症状。含有黑视素的视网膜神经节细胞参与这些过程的控制和调节，并且可能受到影响，因为在该疾病中已经描述了其他视网膜和视觉影响。通过免疫组织化学方法评估了来自 PD 或对照供体的眼睛中含有黑视素的视网膜神经节细胞的数量和形态。PD 黑视素神经节细胞的 Sholl 交点数、分支数和 Sholl 分析的末端数显著减少。此外，与对照组相比，这些细胞的密度在 PD 中显著降低。视网膜黑视素系统的退化和损伤可能会影响 PD 病理报告中的睡眠和昼夜节律功能障碍，其保护或刺激可能会改善疾病前景和患者的整体生活质量。
