Why a Secretory Vesicle Failure in Parkinson Disease Might Matter

Presence of functional impairment could be useful for early PD diagnosis and as a biomarker.

High levels of neuronal cytosolic dopamine and dopamine metabolite, mostly contained within secretory vesicles, may be important to the pathogenesis of Parkinson disease (PD). Given that platelet secretory vesicles, like those in the brain, store serotonin, investigators conducted a study of secretory vesicles to determine if platelet storage function with serotonin could be a model with which to compare storage mechanisms of brain dopamine. The researchers isolated fresh platelets from 75 persons with PD, 116 matched non-PD controls, and 24 persons with mixed parkinsonism and then assayed serotonin handling (basal content, accumulation, secretion, and spontaneous leakage).

A marked decrease in serotonin content and uptake was observed in se…

Reviewing Author

Michael S. Okun, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardParkinson’s Foundation; Tourette Association of America

Speaker’s BureauMedscape/WebMD CME, Movement Disorders Society CME, American Academy of Neurology CME

RoyaltiesBooks4Patients; Demos; Cambridge; Taylor and Francis; Robert Rose; Public Affairs

Grant/Research SupportNational Institutes of Health; Parkinson’s Foundation; Tourette Association of America; University of Florida Foundation

Editorial BoardsTremor and Other Hyperkinetic Movements; JAMA Neurology

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesParkinson’s Foundation (Medical Advisor)