On May 27, 1893, Paul Oscar Blocq and Georges Marinesco published ‘Tremblement Parkonsonien Hemiplegique‘ the first case that suggested there is a link between pathology in the Substantia Nigra pars compacta (SNc) and Parkinson’s disease.

The two scientists who worked at Salpêtrière. The article described a 38 years-old man, with tuberculosis, who was admitted to the Charcot’s neurological ward because he also showed signs of unilateral Parkinsonism.

During the autopsy, the investigators found a tubercle that destroyed the right substantia nigra. As the patient had overactive reflexes on the left side and the symptomatology matched exactly the localization of the tumor, Blocq and Marinesco suggested the Parkinsonism to be more likely a complication of tuberculosis (TB) and not an incidental finding.