Stability of cell size and nucleolar size in Lewy body containing neurons of substantia nigra in Parkinson's disease.

Samples of 9 brains of autopsied patients suffering from Parkinson's disease were examined. In H & E stained 20 microns thick sections of substantia nigra 10 Lewy body containing and 20 unaffected pigmented nerve cells of substantia nigra per case were measured for size of the perikarya and nucleolar size utilizing an interactive image processing unit. In affected cells the size of Lewy bodies was measured too. There was no significant difference in the size of the perikarya and nucleolar size between affected and unaffected cells. In Lewy body bearing cells nucleolar size was not correlated with the size of the Lewy bodies. There was a significant negative correlation between nucleolar size of substantia nigra neurons and the duration of the disease. Since nucleolar volume can serve as indicator of RNA synthesis of a cell, Lewy bodies do not seem to disturb nerve cell metabolism.