Alpha-synucleinopathy is a neurological disease ................. that results in the degeneration of populations of nerve cells that develop Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites as a result of filamentous inclusions made of the protein alpha-synuclein. *** NEEDS REVIEW *** [PROPOSED] initially affects the medulla oblongata and progresses to more rostral brain areas in a hierarchical sequence ("Braak hypothesis"). Predominant involvement of the amygdala is also described. def [proposed] is hypothetical Besides Parkinson's disease, the filamentous inclusions of two additional neurodegenerative diseases, namely, dementia with Lewy bodies and multiple system atrophy, have also been found to be made of alpha-synuclein. Recombinant alpha-synuclein has been shown to assemble into filaments with similar morphologies to those found in the human diseases and with a cross-beta fiber diffraction pattern. The new work has established the alpha-synucleinopathies as a major class of neurodegenerative disease. From: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11193145

http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ND_0000068

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18362284

http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ND_0000113