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Cite This: ACS Chem. Neurosci. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
Crystals in the Substantia Nigra Adam Heller* and Sheryl S. Coffman
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McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712, United States ABSTRACT: Crystals of TiO2 and CaO were detected in electron-beam exposed extracts of four substantia nigra specimens of Parkinson’s disease donors. A likely precursor of the CaO crystals is inflammatory calcium oxalate dihydrate, decomposing according to CaC2O4·2H2O → CaO + CO↑ + CO2↑ + 2H2O↑. Crystals of hydrated iron oxide, earlier reported residents of the human brain, were also found.
KEYWORDS: Parkinson’s disease, substantia nigra, crystals, calcium oxide dihydrate, titanium dioxide, iron oxide
T
he dopamine-producing substantia nigra (sn) is the locus of Parkinson’s disease (PD). As the disease progresses, an
Table 1. Detected Crystals specimen
count of crystal clusters
PD stage
year of donation
age of donor
searched squares
1 2 4 5
2016 2015 2016 2016
76 74 78 73
3 3 3 30 wt % Ti, Ca, or Fe.
Corresponding Author
*A.H. E-mail:
[email protected]. Phone 1-512-471-7060. ORCID
Adam Heller: 0000-0003-0181-1246 Author Contributions
A.H. initiated the project and wrote the manuscript. S.S.C. developed the methods and performed the transmission electron microscopy. Both authors analyzed the data. Funding
A.H. thanks the Welch Foundation (Grant F-1131) for supporting this study. Notes
The authors declare no competing financial interest.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors thank Dr. Karalee Jarvis for her expert guidance of the transmission electron microscopy. ABBREVIATIONS COD, calcium oxalate dihydrate; PD, Parkinson’s disease; TEM, transmission electron microscopy. C
DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.9b00318 ACS Chem. Neurosci. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
Letter
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DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.9b00318 ACS Chem. Neurosci. XXXX, XXX, XXX−XXX
