J. Phys. IV France 104 (2003) 325
DOI: 10.1051/jp4:200300091

Application of synchrotron radiation for elemental microanalysis of human central nervous System tissue

M. Szczerbowska-Boruchowska¹, M. Lankosz¹, J. Ostachowicz¹, D. Adamek², A. Krygowska-Wajs², B. Tomik², A. Szczudlik², A. Simionovici³ and S. Bohic<sup>3

1</sup>  Department of Radiometry, Faculty of Physics and Nuclear Techniques, University of Mining and Metallurgy, Al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
²  Institute of Neurology, Collegium Medicum, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
³  European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, BP. 220, 38043 Grenoble cedex, France

Abstract
The pathogenesis of two neurodegenerative diseases i.e. Parkinson's Disease (PD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are still not known. It is supposed that disturbance of metal ions homeostasis may promote degeneration and atrophy of neurones. As a preliminary study. the quantitative and topographic elemental analysis of selected parts of human brain and spinal cord was performed using synchrotron microbeam-X ray fluorescence ( -SXRF) technique. The samples were taken during the autopsy from patients with PD, ALS and from patients died due to non-neurological conditions events. X-ray fluorescence imaging showed that increased concentration of selected elements are observed in neurons perikarial parts in compare with surrounding area. Moreover, comparable analysis showed significant differences in accumulation of selected elements between the pathological and control cases. The investigations indicate that micro-beam of synchrotron radiation can be satisfactory applied for analysis of central nervous System tissue providing useful information about distribution and contents of elements at the single cell level.

© EDP Sciences 2003