Met-enkephalin immunoreactivity in the basal ganglia in parkinson’s disease and striatonigral degeneration

This study concerns the expression of Met-enkephalin (MEnk) in the striatum and the external segment of the globus pallidus proper (GPe) in normal controls, idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (PD), and striatonigral degeneration (SND). For this purpose, we developed a sensitive immunoperoxidase technique to visualize MEnk-positive patches in routinely prepared formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded striatal tissues. In comparison with normal controls, MEnk-positive patches and pallidal MEnk-positive axon terminals were strongly present in patients with PD, showing characteristic distribution patterns. By comparison, in SND patients, there was striking diminution of MEnk staining in the putamen and ventrolateral portion of the GPe, while MEnk patches were persistent in the caudate nucleus.