摘要
Parkinson’s disease(PD)is a neurological degenerative disorder characterized by loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra(SN)and intracellular inclusions called Lewy bodies and Lewy tangles,composed mainly by aggregates of α-synuclein.Braak et al.(2003)proposed that the olfactory epithelium and intestines are the anatomical sites where PD initiates;as pathological aggregates ofα-synuclein are detected in these tissues in very early or prodromal PD.In this scenario,α-synuclein seems to reach the central nervous system(CNS)by axonal transport through the sympathetic nervous system,the glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves as well as the olfactory pathways(Braak et al.,2003).
