Classical Lewy bodies are well structured easily identified inclusion bodies which appear in the cytoplasm of certain brainstem nerve cells.They may or may not be associated with nerve cell death. They are of established clinical significance because they are encountered in the vast majority of Parkinson’s disease cases and because their presence more than doubles the risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Also in cases admitted to a mental hospital over age 50 without clinical or pathologic criteria of dementia, 28% had classical Lewy bodies. There is increasing evidence that a high stress life-style and chronic anxiety in the mid-adult years contribute to Lewy body formation.
The concept that mental stress in mid-life may contribute to Parkinson’s diseas in later life is not a new idea. Shiba et al. in 2000* used the medical records linkage of the Rochester Epidemiology Project to identify 196 subjects who developed Parkinson’s disease in Olmstead County, Minnesota,during the years 1976- 1995. Each case was matched by sex and age to a general population control. For a period of 5 years prior to the motor symptoms, the frequency of documented anxiety and depression was more than double that of the controls.
In the Camarillo Brain Study Project autopsy series of 1200 cases admitted to an adult mental hospital, the incidence of classical Lewy bodies in cases, without Alzheimer’s disease, was almost restricted to those cases admitted over age 50 with long standing mental illness but without dementia. In this group the incidence of classical Lewy body formation was 28% compared to 1% in the controls. The incidence of Parkinson’s disease (11 cases) in the series was also restricted to this subgroup. www.saynotodementia.com
This relationship between Lewy body formation and stress may relate to the frequent development of Parkinson’s disease in persons recognized for their achievement whether for good or evil as in the cases of Pope John II and Adolf Hitler. More likely than not Lewy body formation may have been a factor in President Reagan’s Alzheimer disease. Recent studies have revealed a reduced risk of Parkinson’s diease in cigarette smokers. It is well known that cigarette smoking relieves anxiety and when persons quit cigarettes they often seek other anxiety relieving behaviors such as over-eating.
*Shiba M et al. Anxiety disorders and depressive disorders preceeding Parkinson’s disease: A cases-controlled study Mov Disord 2000 July 15 (4) 669-77
Tags: stress, stress and Lewy bodies
