SNCA and Parkinson disease: Neuropathological hallmarks of PD include the selective loss of midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) neurons in the pars compacta of the substantia nigra (SNpc), and the presence of α-synuclein-protein (α-Syn) in intracytoplasmic and intraneuritic eosinophilic inclusions, termed Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites, respectively (Pakkenberg et al., 1991; Braak and Braak, 2000).