Purkinje cell axonal torpedoes are unrelated to advanced aging and likely reflect cerebellar injury

Articles:

Title:: Purkinje cell axonal torpedoes are unrelated to advanced aging and likely reflect cerebellar injury
Author(s):: Louis, Elan D.
Faust, Phyllis L.
Vonsattel, Jean Paul
Erickson-Davis, Cordelia
Date:: 2009
Type:: Articles
Department:: Center for Parkinson's Disease and Other Movement Disorders
Volume:: 117
Permanent URL:: http://hdl.handle.net/10022/AC:P:9898
Book/Journal Title:: Acta neuropathologica
Abstract:: Torpedoes, swellings of the proximal Purkinje cell axon, are thought to represent a cellular response to injury [3]. They may occur in a variety of cerebellar disorders [7]. Most recently, their numbers were noted to be six-times higher in essential tremor (ET) than control brains [4]. Torpedoes are also often viewed as a cumulative phenomenon associated with advanced aging [3,4], yet there are surprisingly few supporting data. We quantified torpedoes in normal human cerebella spanning a considerable age range to assess whether torpedoes are a cumulative phenomenon of aging. These data help place the relative abundance of torpedoes in ET in context.
Subject(s):: Neurosciences
DOI:: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00401-009-0534-z