Corpora amylacea (CA) are complex aggregates described in different organs and tissues associated with ageing and degenerative processes. Described for the first time in 1779 by Giovanni Battista Morgagni in the prostate and in 1837 by Jan Evangelista Purkinje in the brain, these were named corpora amylacea (in Latin, starch bodies) by Rudolf Vichow in 1854 for their similiarities with this polysaccharide. However, more than two centuries after its discovery, its function and meaning are unknown yet.

An article now published in the journal Ageing Research Reviews answers many doubts about the origins and function of these bodies with the analysis of the similarities and differences of CA in different tissues and organs. The study has been carried out by a team of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, the Institute of Neurosciences of the UB (UBNeuro), and the Center for Networking Biomedical Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), led by the lecturers Carme Pelegrí and Jordi Vilaplana.

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