Post mortem examination of Parkinson’s disease brains suggests decline in mitochondrial biomass, reversed by deep brain stimulation of subthalamic nucleus

What is it about?

Deep brain stimulation is a commonly used surgical treatment for Parkinson's disease. The mechanisms underlying the clinical benefits of the procedure are not fully understood. Dysfunction in the brain energy metabolism has been suggested as one of the main culprits of neuronal degeneration during the course of Parkinson's disease. In this work, we investigated the changes in the number and mass of the mitochondria, the cellular powerhouses in the degenerating neurons of Parkinson's disease patients and patients treated with deep brain stimulation. Parkinson's disease seems to have caused an increase in the in average mitochondrial volume and numbers in the degenerating dopaminergic neurons. Deep brain stimulation treatment s appeared to have inhibited or reversed this reduction in mitochondrial volume and numbers. These results suggest modulation of neuronal metabolism as a mechanism for deep brain stimulation.

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