Variant Gerstmann-Sträussler syndrome with the P105L prion gene mutation: an unusual case with nigral degeneration and widespread neurofibrillary tangles

We present here a case of variant Gerstmann-Sträussler syndrome (GSS) with a codon 105 mutation of the prion protein gene. A 57-year-old woman developed dementia and gait disturbance dissimilar to the spastic paraparesis that is observed in most cases with codon 105 mutation. The clinical course of the disease in this case was 12 years. The brain weighed 900 g, and the frontal lobe, pallidum and thalamus were markedly atrophic. Severe neuronal loss was observed in the deep layer of the frontal and temporal cortices, and fibrillary gliosis and a marked loss of neurons was observed in the globus pallidus, thalamus and substantia nigra. Many amyloid plaques and some ballooned neurons were present in the frontal, temporal and parietal cortices. However, no spongiform changes were seen. The cerebellum was relatively well preserved. Numerous neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) were recognized in the cerebral cortices, and scattered NFTs were observed in the basal nucleus of Meynert, thalamus, substantia nigra, periaqueductal gray matter, raphe nuclei and locus ceruleus. The case presented here indicates the presence of variations in the pathological findings of cases with codon 105 mutation, and that the formation of cortical and brain stem NFTs might have something to do with the duration of illness and/or the degree of brain tissue destruction that had occurred.