Micronucleus frequency in buccal mucosa cells of patients with neurodegenerative diseases

MN result either from chromosomal fragments, which indicate DNA strand breaks or chromosome missegregation¹⁵ and are associated with a variety of neurological diseases²¹. We performed the buccal cell MN cytome test in a large cohort to compare a reference group without severe neuropsychiatric disorders with patients suffering from such a disease at the time of sampling. In the present study, MN were not only counted in mononuclear cells, but also in cells with condensed chromatin and in binuclear cells, which could lead to slightly higher MN frequencies compared to other studies, although the amount of MN scored in binuclear cells or cells with condensed chromatin is very small compared to mononuclear cells. Nevertheless, the magnitude of the MN frequencies is roughly in the range that is usually reported, showing good comparability with other studies. Another explorative aim of the…