Pathology

 

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative condition that disrupts the normal motor loop through the basal ganglia. The pathology of the most prominent form of parkinsonism (IPD) is characterised by loss of dopaminergic neurones in the substantia nigra, and the presence of Lewy bodies. Both pathological conditions cause an increased inhibition of the thalamus by the basal ganglia circuitry, causing the characteristic symptom of hypokinesia associated with the disease.

 

 

Image courtesy of https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Histological_sample_of_Substantia_nigra_in_Parkinson%27s_disease.jpg?uselang=en-gb