Clinical and pathological features affecting cardiac sympathetic denervation in autopsy‐confirmed dementia with Lewy bodies

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The aim was to clarify the features affecting cardiac sympathetic denervation in autopsy-confirmed dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) patients. METHODS Fifty-four autopsy-confirmed DLB patients were enrolled. Tissue samples of the left ventricular anterior wall were immunostained with anti-tyrosine hydroxylase antibody to identify catecholaminergic nerve axons. Immunostained areas were quantified as residual cardiac sympathetic nerve (CSN) axons and the relationship between the degree of residual CSN axons and clinical and neuropathological features was examined. RESULTS Virtually all patients showed small amounts of residual CSN axons (0.87%, range 0.02%-9.98%), with 50 patients (92.6%) showing