Pathological study on a severe sialidosis (α-neuraminidase deficiency)

Summary A 56-day-old infant with -neuraminidase deficiency, whose clinical features included severe edema of extremities and ascites which resembled those in severe infantile sialidosis, was autopsied. Perforation, whose pathogenesis was unclear, was found on the descending portion of the duodenum. Light and electron microscope studies showed that neurons in the cerebral and cerebellar corticies, and the thoracic spinal cord contained membrane-bound vacuoles but no membranous cytoplasmic bodies. Zebra bodies were found only in the neurons of the spinal cord. The neurons in the paraganglion and in the Auerbach's myenteric plexus were also distended with numerous membrane-bound vacuoles. Hepatocytes, endothelial cells and Kupffer cells in the liver and glomerular and tubular epithelial cells in the kidney were swollen with a number of vacuoles although the patient showed none of the clinical features of renal involvement. These pathological changes were similar to those in nephrosialidosis reported by Le Sec et al. [Arch Fr Pediatr 35:819–829 (1978)].     

Aberrant myelinated neurites in the anterior horns of a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

A case of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis revealed the classical pathologic features of ALS, i.e. neuronal loss in the anterior horns and pyramidal tract degeneration. In addition to the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease, senile plaques, neurofibrillary tangles and granulovacuolar changes of neurons were also present. Clinically the 67-year-old patient exhibited ALS of the upper extremity and a mild forgetfulness. Two striking pathological features were noted in the spinal cord: first, at several levels in the spinal cord excessive amounts of myelinated neurites were found; second, the microglial proliferation in the anterior horns was very intense and positive for leukocyte common antigen.     

Glial activation: a driving force for pathological pain

Pain is classically viewed as being mediated solely by neurons, as are other sensory phenomena. The discovery that spinal cord glia (microglia and astrocytes) amplify pain requires a change in this view. These glia express characteristics in common with immune cells in that they respond to viruses and bacteria, releasing proinflammatory cytokines, which create pathological pain. These spinal cord glia also become activated by certain sensory signals arriving from the periphery. Similar to spinal infection, these signals cause release of proinflammatory cytokines, thus creating pathological pain. Taken together, these findings suggest a new, dramatically different approach to pain control, as all clinical therapies are focused exclusively on altering neuronal, rather than glial, function.     

Spinal cord ganglioglioma presenting as acute paraparesis

A 17-year-old male presented with acute onset paraparesis in the lower limbs. Urinary retention was present and the patient required catheterisation. Clinical examination confirmed severe bilateral lower limb weakness and a sensory level at T8. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a haemorrhagic intramedullary tumour extending from T8 to the conus. Microsurgical excision of the tumour was performed and the patient made a good functional recovery. The histology of the tumour demonstrated a ganglioglioma of the spinal cord. Acute paraparesis has not previously been reported with a spinal cord ganglioglioma. We discuss the clinical, diagnostic and pathological features of spinal cord gangliogliomas.     

Protective effects of Batroxobin on spinal cord injury in rats

Expansion of the secondary injury following primary spinal cord injury is a major pathological event that increases destruction in the spinal cord, so measures to reduce secondary injury are needed. Our previous study demonstrated that, at the front of the expanding secondary injury in the spinal cord, there is an ischemic area in which many neurons can still be rescued. Therefore, enhancement of blood circulation in the cord may be helpful, and indeed, we found that a traditional Chinese medicine, shu-xue-tong, efficiently reduces the secondary injury. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of reducing fibrinogen with Batroxobin, a drug widely used clinically for ischemia, in rats with spinal cord contusion. We found that both 2 and 4 Batroxobin units (BU)/kg efficiently decreased the plasma fibrinogen, and 2 BU/kg significantly increased spinal blood flow, enhanced neuronal survival, mitigated astrocyte and microglia activation, and improved locomotor recovery. However, 4 BU/kg had no effect on the secondary spinal cord injury. These data suggest that Batroxobin has multiple beneficial effects on spinal cord injury, indicating a potential clinical application.     

Ultrastructural observations of spinal cord lesions and blood-brain barrier changes in scrapie-infected mice

Summary Spinal cord samples from IM or VM mice injected intracerebrally with the 87V scrapie agent were examined ultrastructurally at the clinical stage of disease for changes in blood vessel permeability and for pathological alterations. In several animals, (3 of 16), massive changes were noted in the cervical spinal cords in the subependymal area of the cortical gray matter immediately surrounding the central canal including ependymal cell changes, the presence of amyloid plaque in close association with microglial cells, extensive neuropil vacuolation, the appearance of reactive astrocytes, degenerating neurites and vacuolated neurons. In those regions showing structural damage, localized increased permeability to horseradish peroxidase across the blood-brain barrier was noticed along with the appearance of numerous vesiculo-canalicular profiles in micro-blood vessel endothelial cells with extravasation of the tracer to the neuropil. Some damaged neurons appeared flooded with this tracer. These changes were not observed in either the thoracic or lumbar spinal cord regions. The occurrence of pathological changes in the spinal cords of a small percentage of intracerebrally injected mice was probably due to a high concentration of the scrapie agent which localized in the cervical spinal cord, presumably after entering the spinal fluid via the lateral ventricle at the time of injection.Supported in part by a grant from the NINCDS No. 18079     

Spinal cord biopsy findings of anti‐aquaporin‐4 antibody‐negative recurrent longitudinal myelitis in a patient with sicca symptoms and hepatitis C viral infection

We describe the pathological features of a spinal cord biopsy from a 69‐year‐old woman with anti‐aquaporin‐4 antibody‐negative recurrent longitudinal myelitis. Spinal cord MRI showed T2 high‐intensity lesions with strong gadolinium enhancement, when episodes of sensory‐motor impairment were repeated. The radiological abnormality was corrected by corticosteroid administration, but improvement of the symptoms was minimal. Although the patient had sicca symptoms and fulfilled four of the diagnostic criteria for Sjögren syndrome, the diagnosis was excluded, because of infection with hepatitis C virus, an exclusion criterion of Sjögren syndrome. In the spinal cord lesions, necrotic changes affected both myelin and axons. Infiltrating lymphocytes were predominantly T‐cells. The proliferation of small vessels with hyalinization and concomitant occlusive change was remarkable. These pathological findings resembled those previously reported in Sjögren syndrome. Ultrastructurally, the endothelial cells of the small vessels showed features of activated cells and contained vesiculo‐tubular structures in the cytoplasm, indicating that increased blood‐brain barrier (BBB) permeability might contribute to pathogenesis. We speculated that increased BBB permeability and T‐cell entry in the spinal parenchyma triggered pathological reactions resulting in necrotic changes in the spinal cord. Obstruction of small vessels might add ischemic damage to the lesions. The clinical course and pathological findings indicated that damage progressed rapidly in the spinal cord and was irreversible. The lesions apparently differed from typical demyelination plaques. Faced with such spinal cord lesions, a preventive therapeutic approach is necessary to avoid attack‐associated disability.     

嗅鞘细胞移植脊髓损伤大鼠后Semaphorin3A的表达

脊髓损伤后损伤区Semaphorin3A(Sema3A)表达明显升高,嗅鞘细胞移植对此会有何影响？实验发现单纯脊髓横切损伤后,会出现脊髓出血、水肿、变性、坏死,囊腔形成,胶质细胞增生和神经纤维再生等病理反应。嗅鞘细胞移植后,脊髓的上述病理反应明显减轻,损伤区神经元和神经纤维的坏死程度下降,损伤区Sema3A表达降低。证实嗅鞘细胞移植可通过降低Sema3A表达对损伤脊髓神经元起保护作用。     

Assessment of spinal cord injury by counting corticospinal and rubrospinal neurons

This paper describes an objective, quantifiable technique for assaying the degree of severity of spinal cord injury. Twenty-one rats underwent a C₇-T₁ laminectomy: 12 received a C₈ spinal cord clip compression injury with forces of either 2.3, 16.9 or 53.0 g; 4 had cord transection at C₈, and 5 had no cord lesion. Postoperative clinical neurological assessment was performed by the inclined plane method. At 4 weeks, the spinal cord-injured rats underwent a T₁₀ transection and insertion of a Gelfoam pledget impregnated with horseradish peroxidase (HRP). HRP was similarly administered to 9 normal rats. Longitudinal sections of the spinal cord encompassing the injury site were stained with Luxol fast blue, and coronal sections from the cerebrum and midbrain were processed for HRP reactivity with tetramethylbenzidine. Labelled corticospinal and rubrospinal neurons were counted in every 6th section to derive a cortical score (CS) and a red nucleus score (RNS) for each animal. The CS reflected the extent of the pathological changes at the site of cord injury and the In CS decreased linearly with increasing injury severity (P < 0.0001). In contrast, the RNS was only reduced in animals with severe (53.0 g) cord injuries (P < 0.0006). The degree of preservation of the dorsal columns including the corticospinal tracts at the injury site correlated with the CS, whereas the RNS was related to the degree of preservation of the lateral columns. Counts of rubrospinal neurons, but not corticospinal neurons, correlated closely (r = 0.96, P < 0.001) with the inclined plane results, suggesting the importance of non-pyramidal tracts in controlling gross motor function. Thus, counting corticospinal and rubrospinal neurons is an objective, reliable test of the severity of experimental spinal cord injury.     

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in an adult following acute paralytic poliomyelitis in early childhood

About 30% of polio survivors develop a post-polio syndrome. Some of these patients develop slowly progressive muscle weakness known as post-poliomyelitis muscular atrophy (PPMA). We describe an unusual form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in a patient with acute poliomyelitis in childhood. An 80-year-old woman had acute poliomyelitis at 2 years of age and developed weakness limited to the lower extremities. Residual weakness was stable until the age of 75 when she developed rapidly progressive weakness that first affected her left arm and subsequently the right arm. Neurological examination revealed both upper and lower motor neuron signs. These clinical features were more consistent with ALS than PPMA. At autopsy, there was marked atrophy of the precentral gyrus. Microscopic examination revealed a severe loss of all nerve cells and pronounced fibrillary astrocytosis of the lumbar ventral horns in the spinal cord, presumably a result of poliomyelitis. Superimposed on these spinal cord alterations were the pathological features of ALS, consisting of loss of Betz cells, corticospinal tract degeneration and loss of motor neurons of other levels of the spinal cord. The findings included some atypical features for ALS, namely, sparing of the hypoglossal nucleus, absence of Bunina bodies and absence of ubiquitin-immunoreactive inclusions. Although poliomyelitis and ALS may be coincidental, the unusual pathological expression of ALS raise the possibility that it is related to the antecedent poliomyelitis. Received: 19 November 1997 / Revised: 24 April 1998, 6 September 1998 / Accepted: 14 September 1998     

Stress protein expression in early phase spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion injury*

Spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion injury is a stress injury to the spinal cord. Our previous studies using differential proteomics identified 21 differentially expressed proteins (n > 2) in rabbits with spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion injury. Of these proteins, stress-related proteins included protein disulfide isomerase A3, stress-induced-phosphoprotein 1 and heat shock cognate protein 70. In this study, we established New Zealand rabbit models of spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion injury by abdominal aorta occlusion. Results demonstrated that hind limb function initially improved after spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion injury, but then deteriorated. The pathological morphology of the spinal cord became aggravated, but lessened 24 hours after reperfusion. However, the numbers of motor neurons and interneurons in the spinal cord gradually decreased. The expression of protein disulfide isomerase A3, stress-induced-phosphoprotein 1 and heat shock cognate protein 70 was induced by ischemia/reperfusion injury. The expression of these proteins increased within 12 hours after reperfusion, and then decreased, reached a minimum at 24 hours, but subsequently increased again to similar levels seen at 6-12 hours, showing a characterization of induction-inhibition-induction. These three proteins were expressed only in cytoplasm but not in the nuclei. Moreover, the expression was higher in interneurons than in motor neurons, and the survival rate of interneurons was greater than that of motor neurons. It is assumed that the expression of stress-related proteins exhibited a protective effect on neurons.     

Changes in corticospinal facilitation of lower limb spinal motor neurons after spinal cord lesions.

The projections from the cortex to the motor neurons of lower limb muscles were examined in 33 normal subjects and 16 patients with incomplete spinal cord lesions. Corticospinal neurons were excited by transcranial magnetic stimulation and the effects on single spinal motor neurons determined from peristimulus time histograms (PSTHs) of single tibialis anterior (TA) and soleus (SOL) motor units. In normal subjects magnetic stimulation produced a short latency facilitation of TA motor units but had little or no effect on SOL motor units. In the patients with spinal cord lesions magnetic stimulation also produced facilitation of TA but not SOL motor units; however, the mean latency of the TA facilitation was significantly longer (by about 14 ms) in the patient group. The F wave latencies were normal in all patients tested, suggesting that central rather than peripheral conduction was slowed. The duration of the period of increased firing probability (in TA motor units) was also significantly longer in the patients with spinal cord lesions. These changes may reflect the slowing of conduction and dispersal of conduction velocities in the corticospinal pathways as a consequence of the spinal cord lesion. No significant correlations were found between the delay of the TA facilitation and the clinical deficits in this group of patients.     

脊髓毛细胞型星形细胞瘤的诊断与治疗

目的 总结脊髓毛细胞型星形细胞瘤(PA)的诊治经验.方法 回顾性分析2015年1月至2020年1月显微手术切除的12例脊髓PA的临床资料,结合文献总结诊治经验.结果 肿瘤全切除8例,大部分切除4例.术后病理证实均为脊髓PA(WHO分级Ⅰ级).术后随访6-54个月,平均(29.3±16.1)个月.末次随访,5例脊髓功能较...     

An autopsy case of AIDS initially presenting with symptoms of myelopathy

An autopsy case of HIV encephalomyelopathy in a homosexual patient who initially presented with signs of myelopathy, such as urinary incontinence and spasticity of both legs, is reported. The pathological examination disclosed typical HIV encephalopathy with macrophages and multinucleated giant cells (MGC) in the cerebral white matter and loss of neurons of the cerebral cortex. The MGC contained HIV-1 p24 antigen. The thoracic spinal cord was markedly atrophied with degeneration of both lateral tracts, and histologically characterized by gliosis and perivascular accumulation of macrophages. Vacuolar changes and HIV-1 p24-containing cells were not observed in the spinal cord. The present case indicates that myelopathy can occur as an initial sign in AIDS patients, even though its pathomechanism remains to be elucidated.     

Intramedullary subependymoma of the cervical spinal cord: a case report with immunohistochemical study

Spinal subependymomas, which have a relatively benign nature, are very rare tumors. It is difficult to distinguish spinal subependymomas from other intramedullary spinal tumors based on neuroradiological findings. A case of cervical intramedullary subependymoma in a 63-year-old female is reported. The diffused enlargement of the spinal cord at C2 level involved the lesion with isointensity on a T1-weighted MRI and relatively high intensity on a T2-weighted MRI. Enhancement in the small part of the tumor was observed on a T1-weighted MRI with gadolinium administration. The tumor occupied the left side of the spinal cord, and was totally removed through a laminoplasty of C2. Immunohistochemistry was useful for pathological diagnosis. The clinical feature of this patient is described with the review of literatures.     

Pathology of spinal cord lesions caused by ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, with special reference to reversibility of the spinal cord lesion.

This report describes pathological findings of the spinal cord damage, with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL), with special reference to reversibility of such lesions. Twenty-five autopsy cases associated with OPLL were examined, and the spinal cord damage was pathologically classified into four categories based on degree of destruction (stage 0-3). In stage 0 and stage 1, major pathological changes in the gray matter and the degree of compression on the spinal cord were well correlated to deformity of the anterior horn. In stage 2 and stage 3, neurons were almost completely obliterated and necrosis with cavitation were frequently observed. Destruction of the spinal cord in stage 2 and stage 3 is considered to be irreversible; therefore, surgical treatment is recommended at stage 0 or stage 1.     

脊髓圆锥马尾区畸胎瘤合并终丝牵张型脊髓拴系综合征的手术治疗

目的 探讨脊髓圆锥马尾区畸胎瘤合并终丝牵张型脊髓拴系综合征（TCS）的临床特点、手术方法及其疗效。方法 回顾性分析2007年2月～2022年3月手术治疗的50例脊髓圆锥马尾区畸胎瘤合并终丝牵张型TCS的临床资料。结果 畸胎瘤内容物及囊性部分内壁剥离切除45例,囊壁次全切除加电灼5例;50例终丝均分离、切断。术后病理均为成熟囊性畸胎瘤及内终丝结构。术后随访6个月～14.5年,中位数75个月,按Hoffman脊髓功能评分,脊髓功能状态好转27例,不变22例,恶化1例;1例畸胎瘤内膜次全切除术后复发再次手术,其余49例未见肿瘤复发,无再拴系。结论 椎管内畸胎瘤多分布于脊髓圆锥马尾区,以慢性神经压迫为表现;对合并终丝牵张型TCS,一期行畸胎瘤切除术及终丝切断脊髓栓系松解术,疗效满意。     

Pathogenesis of human poliovirus infection in mice. I. Clinical and pathological studies

Human poliovirus infection in mice was studied to determine the similarities to human poliomyelitis, the selective vulnerability of neurons to infection, the role of the immune response in age-dependent susceptibility, and possible viral persistence. Mice inoculated intracerebrally (ic) with the Lansing type 2 poliovirus developed a disease with clinical, pathological, and age-dependent features resembling human poliomyelitis. Adult mice had a shorter incubation period (50% paralysis, Day 8 vs. Day 13) and a higher incidence of paralysis (97% vs. 79%) than newborns. Only paralyzed animals had pathologic changes in the spinal cord, and these corresponded to the degree of paralysis. Fluorescent antibody staining showed that selective infection of neurons was most intense in the anterior horn motor neurons of the spinal cord. There was no extraneural virus replication and no systemic neutralizing antibody response. Cyclophosphamide immunosuppression enhanced rather than diminished disease, indicating that maturation of immune responses did not explain the relative resistance of newborns to paralysis.     

嗅鞘细胞移植修复大鼠脊髓损伤的组织病理学变化☆

背景：对于脊髓损伤,目前临床尚无有效的治疗对策,近年来嗅鞘细胞移植对脊髓损伤修复取得了一定的进展。 目的：观察嗅鞘细胞移植在缓解损伤脊髓的病理反应和超微结构变化,及其在发生发展中的作用。 方法：60只大鼠随机分为空白组,模型组,嗅鞘胞移植组和DF12组,每组15只。空白组：仅切开T10全椎板及T9,T11部分椎板,对脊髓未作其他处理,明胶海绵轻柔压迫止血;模型组：仅切断脊髓,未作特殊处理;嗅鞘细胞移植组和DF12组：切断脊髓后用微量注射器分别注射嗅鞘细胞和DF12培养液,随后缝合切口。脊髓损伤后1,3,7,14,28,42,56 d每组麻醉2只受检大鼠,取材做光镜观察和电镜观察。 结果与结论：单纯脊髓横切损伤后,发生了出血、水肿、变性、坏死以及囊腔形成,胶质细胞增生和神经纤维再生。嗅鞘细胞移植后,明显减轻了神经元和神经纤维的坏死变性程度,减轻病理反应,并能对损伤神经元实施保护;防止了胶质细胞过度增生形成瘢痕屏障,明显增加了再生神经纤维的数量。提示嗅鞘细胞移植对损伤脊髓具有减轻病理反应和促进修复的作用。