Synucleinopathy underlies a wide spectrum of clinical syndromes, including PD, PDD, dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), multiple system atrophy (MSA), and pure autonomic failure (PAF). In order to provide diagnostic accuracy and define patients likely to respond to disease modifying therapy, a hierarchical classification has been proposed based on the underlying pathological protein deposition (αS), cellular inclusions (Lewy bodies or glial cytoplasmic inclusion, GCI), and clinical phenotypes (parkinsonism, dementia, or autonomic failure)
[1]. The pathological hallmark of MSA is the presence of GCI in oligodendrocytes. In PAF, there is predominantly a peripheral deposition of Lewy bodies in autonomic ganglia and nerve fibers without evidence of central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction other than rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (REMSBD). Patients with PAF have an increased risk of developing PD, DLB, or MSA later in life
[2], possibly indicating a pathophysiological disease continuum. REMSBD is a well-recognized prodrome of synucleinopathies
[3], as well as a risk factor of developing cognitive impairment
[4].
The Lewy body is a hallmark pathological feature in familial PD, sporadic PD, and other Lewy body diseases (LBD), including PDD and DLB
[5][6][7]. They share αS aggregation and cellular inclusions of Lewy bodies as their key pathogenic events
[8][9]. PDD and DLB are together known as Lewy body dementia, and the timing of dementia relative to the clinical features of parkinsonism is the major clinical distinction between PDD and DLB. PDD describes dementia that occurs at least one year after the onset of well-established PD (the one-year rule)
[10], whereas in DLB, dementia essentially precedes or co-occurs with parkinsonism and has core features of cognitive fluctuation and visual hallucination
[11]. Although PDD and DLB share many overlapping clinical and pathological features, there are major differences. Histopathologically, limbic and neocortical involvement of Lewy pathology are both found in PDD and DLB. However, there is a higher burden of neocortical and limbic LBs, more prominent cortical atrophy, and a higher prevalence of coincident Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology in DLB compared with PDD
[12][13]. The propensity for LB propagation by seeding may differ between PDD and DLB as well
[14]. On the other hand, at PDD’s early stage, it shares a similar αS pathology with PD. Clinically, DLB does not begin with PD or PDD. DLB and PDD also differ in cognitive profiles. Memory and language impairments progress faster in DLB, whereas executive dysfunction progresses more quickly in PDD
[15]. Controversy still exists as to whether PDD and DLB should be considered as separate disease entities, or as two ends of the LBD spectrum beginning at the Lewy pathology end with incidental Lewy body disease, through to PD, PDD, and DLB with AD at the amyloid pathology end. There is emerging agreement in clinical trials and research settings that PDD and DLB should be distinguished as two syndromes.
Another emerging concept connecting pathophysiology and cognitive function in neurodegenerative diseases is oscillopathies, which refer to conditions characterized by the abnormal synchronization of synaptic activity
[16]. Accumulation of αS can alter synaptic structure and function, in turn impairing the physiological transmission through the cortico–basal ganglia–thalamic circuits, accounting for abnormalities in motor and cognitive function. Mitochondrial dysfunction is one of the putative mechanisms in many neurodegenerative disorders. The generation of neuronal oscillations highly relies on mitochondrial energy provision. Distinct patterns of brain oscillations may correlate with clinical symptoms and network impairment secondary to physiopathological changes
[17].