It has been known for decades that degeneration of the locus coeruleus (LC), the major noradrenergic nucleus in the brain, occurs in both Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD), but it was given scant attention. It is now recognized that hyperphosphorylated tau in the LC is the first detectable AD-like neuropathology in the human brain, α-synuclein inclusions in the LC represent an early step in PD, and experimental LC lesions exacerbate neuropathology and cognitive/behavioral deficits in animal models. The purpose of this review is to consider the causes and consequences of LC pathology, dysfunction, and degeneration, as well as their implications for early detection and treatment.

中文翻译：

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漫长的毁灭之路：神经退行性疾病中的去甲肾上腺素能功能障碍


几十年来，人们已经知道，阿尔茨海默病 (AD) 和帕金森病 (PD) 中都会发生蓝斑 (LC)（大脑中主要的去甲肾上腺素能核）的变性，但人们对此却很少关注。现在人们认识到，LC 中的过度磷酸化 tau 是人脑中第一个可检测到的类似 AD 的神经病理学，LC 中的 α-突触核蛋白内含物代表 PD 的早期步骤，实验性 LC 病变加剧了动物的神经病理学和认知/行为缺陷模型。本综述的目的是考虑 LC 病理、功能障碍和变性的原因和后果，以及它们对早期检测和治疗的影响。