Lewy pathology occurs in 8–17% of neurologically-normal people >age 60, termed incidental Lewy body disease, (iLBD). It is often assumed to represent preclinical Parkinson disease (PD). However, some iLBD cases have diffuse pathology inconsistent with preclinical PD. We analyzed iLBD cases (α-synuclein immunohistochemistry) using the Braak PD staging scheme and determined if some had a neuropathological pattern suggestive of preclinical Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). Of the 235 brains examined, 34 had iLBD (14.5%) and all but one could be assigned a Braak PD stage. The distribution of α-synuclein pathology in the 33 cases fell into three patterns: (1) Diffuse cortical and subcortical α-synuclein pathology; (2) No cortical a-synuclein pathology, but a caudal-to-rostral ascending pattern, primarily involving brainstem; (3) Intermediate between these two categories. Also, 6/33 cases failed to follow the pattern of contiguous spread proposed by Braak. These findings suggest dichotomy in the distribution of iLBD: some cases fit the Braak ascending scheme, conceptually consistent with preclinical PD, whereas others displayed prominent cortical involvement that might represent preclinical DLB.

In this study we used immunohistochemistry to screen for α-synuclein pathology in the brains of 241 individuals without clinical evidence of neurologic disease, and discovered 36 cases (15%) with incidental Lewy bodies (LBs) and one case, a 96-year-old woman (0.4%), with inclusions similar to those seen in multiple system atrophy (MSA), a nonfamilial neurodegenerative disorder characterized by parkinsonism, cerebellar ataxia and autonomic dysfunction and α-synuclein immunoreactive glial cytoplasmic inclusions (GCI). In a routine hospital autopsy series of 125 brains, we detected GCI in a neurologically normal 82-year-old man (0.8%). Both cases showed widespread GCI in the central nervous system, as well as a few neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions, but no neuronal loss or gliosis in vulnerable brain regions, including the substantia nigra, putamen, inferior olive and pontine base. Applying a recently proposed grading scale for MSA, the two cases showed pathology far below that detected in patients with clinically overt MSA, suggesting the possibility that these two individuals had preclinical MSA. The prevalence of clinically overt MSA is estimated to be about 4 per 100,000 persons (0.004%), which is far less than the frequency of GCI in this series (0.4%–0.8%). Further studies are needed to determine is GCI in neurologically normal elderly represents prodromal MSA or a rare non-progressive age-related α-synucleinopathy.

Objective

To explore whether associations of potential risk factors for incidental Lewy Body Disease (iLBD) may be similar to Parkinson Disease (PD).

Design, Setting, and Patients

We identified brain-autopsied residents of Olmsted County, MN and immediate vicinity(1988–2004), age>60, without evidence of neurodegenerative disease or tremor, and evaluated by at least one physician within one year of death. Analysis for “incidental” Lewy pathology was done blinded to clinical abstraction.

Main Outcome Measures

Whether risk factors previously associated with PD in Olmsted County, MN are also associated with iLBD.

Results

Of 235 subjects, 34 had iLBD(14.5%). The overall risk factor profiles for iLBD and PD were fairly similar between the two sets of OR estimates, with 11/16 ORs in the same direction. Prior Olmsted County studies documented 7 risk factors with statistically significant associations with PD; for two of these, the ORs for iLBD were in the same direction and statistically significant (physician, caffeine), whereas for three, they were in the same direction but not significant (education, head injury, number-of-children); they were in the opposite direction but not statistically significant for 2 (depression, anxiety). ILBD was not associated with various end-of-life conditions or causes-of-death, although they were slightly older and more likely cachectic.

Conclusions

Based on this exploratory study, iLBD and PD appear to have similar risk factor profiles. Thus, at least some cases of ILBD might represent preclinical PD, arrested PD or a partial syndrome due to a lesser burden of causative factors. ILBD is not explained by non-specific end-of-life brain insults.

Background

Insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) is a widely studied zinc-metalloprotease implicated in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer disease (AD) and varicella zoster virus infection. Despite more than six decades of research on IDE, progress has been hampered by the lack of well-characterized reagents targeting this biomedically important protease. To address this important need, we generated and characterized new mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting natively folded human and rodent IDE.

Results

Eight monoclonal hybridoma cell lines were derived in house from mice immunized with full-length, natively folded, recombinant human IDE. The mAbs derived from these lines were shown to detect IDE selectively and sensitively by a wide range of methods. Two mAbs in particular—designated 6A1 and 6H9—proved especially selective for IDE in immunocytochemical and immunohistochemical applications. Using a variety of methods, we show that 6A1 selectively detects both human and rodent IDE, while 6H9 selectively detects human, but not rodent, IDE, with both mAbs showing essentially no cross reactivity with other proteins in these applications. Using these novel anti-IDE mAbs, we also developed sensitive and quantitative sandwich ELISAs capable of quantifying IDE levels present in human brain extracts.

Conclusion

We succeeded in developing novel mAbs that selectively detect rodent and/or human IDE, which we have shown to be suitable for a wide range of applications, including western blotting, immunoprecipitation, immunocytochemistry, immunohistochemistry, and quantitative sandwich ELISAs. These novel anti-IDE mAbs and the assays derived from them constitute important new tools for addressing many unresolved questions about the basic biology of IDE and its role in multiple highly prevalent human diseases.