Loss of matrix calcium-binding protein-containing neurons in Huntington's disease.

In post-mortem brain specimens from patients dying with a clinical diagnosis of Huntington's disease (HD) immunohistochemistry showed a substantial loss from the neostriatum of neurons containing the calcium-binding protein calbindin 28K. These calbindin neurons, and the straital compartment in which they are sited, are particularly damaged in HD, suggesting that a failure of calcium buffering or homeostasis may contribute to cell death in HD.