Striatal dopaminergic loss without parkinsonism in a case of corticobasal degeneration

Abstract

Neurochemical analyses of post-mortem brain from cases of corticobasal degeneration are extremely rare although nearly 100 cases have been reported in the literature. We detail findings of neurotransmitter derangement in the basal ganglia of a case of neuropathologically confirmed corticobasal degeneration, who presented with dementia. The implications of severe neuronal loss in the substantia nigra and extremely low levels of dopamine and its metabolites in the striatum are considered in relation to the absence of an intrinsic extrapyramidal syndrome.