Department of Biology, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy.
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Perugia, 06126 Perugia, Italy.
Cells. 2024 Jul 27;13(15):1265. doi: 10.3390/cells13151265.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common multisystem neurodegenerative disorder affecting 1% of the population over the age of 60 years. The main neuropathological features of PD are the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) and the presence of alpha synuclein (αSyn)-rich Lewy bodies both manifesting with classical motor signs. αSyn has emerged as a key protein in PD pathology as it can spread through synaptic networks to reach several anatomical regions of the body contributing to the appearance of non-motor symptoms (NMS) considered prevalent among individuals prior to PD diagnosis and persisting throughout the patient's life. NMS mainly includes loss of taste and smell, constipation, psychiatric disorders, dementia, impaired rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, urogenital dysfunction, and cardiovascular impairment. This review summarizes the more recent findings on the impact of αSyn deposits on several prodromal NMS and emphasizes the importance of early detection of αSyn toxic species in biofluids and peripheral biopsies as prospective biomarkers in PD.
帕金森病（PD）是一种常见的多系统神经退行性疾病，影响 60 岁以上人群的 1%。PD 的主要神经病理学特征是黑质致密部（SNpc）中多巴胺能神经元的丧失和富含α-突触核蛋白（αSyn）的路易体的存在，这两者都表现出典型的运动症状。αSyn 已成为 PD 病理学中的关键蛋白，因为它可以通过突触网络传播，到达身体的几个解剖区域，导致非运动症状（NMS）的出现，这些症状被认为在 PD 诊断前就普遍存在，并贯穿患者的一生。NMS 主要包括味觉和嗅觉丧失、便秘、精神障碍、痴呆、快速眼动（REM）睡眠障碍、泌尿生殖功能障碍和心血管损伤。本综述总结了最近关于 αSyn 沉积对几种前驱 NMS 的影响的发现，并强调了在生物流体和外周活检中早期检测 αSyn 毒性物种作为 PD 前瞻性生物标志物的重要性。
