α-Synuclein in the Inner Retina in Parkinson Disease

Behavioral, electrophysiological, and imaging data reveal impaired visual processing and altered retinal morphology in Parkinson disease. Are visual changes epiphenomena? We report the presence of misfolded alpha-synuclein in the retina, not hitherto shown, in discrete retinal neurons within the inner retina. They demonstrate the histopathology that may underlie impaired vision and retinal remodeling in Parkinson disease. Furthermore, the histological localization of alpha-synuclein gives clues to the nonsynaptic mode of alpha-synuclein propagation.