Neuropathologic abnormalities of the brain in the Wistar ataxic rat

The neuropathologic findings of the Wistar ataxic rat brain were reported after making serial sections of the brain and studying the cerebellum with an electron microscope. Twenty-five adult Wistar rats from a mutant strain were used: 14 were ataxic and 11 were normal. In the brains of the Wistar ataxic rats, neuropathologic abnormalities were present only in the Purkinje cells. The possibility of a new model animal with autosomal recessive cerebellar ataxia is discussed.