METACHROMATIC LEUKODYSTROPHY: CLINICAL, HISTOCHEMICAL, AND CEREBROSPINAL FLUID ABNORMALITIES

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1962 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 629-638
Author(s):  
Richard J. Allen ◽  
James J. McCusker ◽  
Wallace W. Tourtellotte

A child has been reported with histochemically proven metachromatic leukodystrophy. Central nervous system degeneration began at the age of 20 months and continued to the time of death at the age of 49 months. Prior to death a "cherry red spot" became evident in the retina and is the only known instance of this finding. This adds to the evidence that metachromatic leukodystrophy is one of the neurolipidoses, but the metabolic defect apparently affects primarily the cerebroside sulfuric acid esters. Repeated analyses of cerebrospinal fluid demonstrated an elevated total protein and a "midzone" gold curve. Lipid analysis of serum and cerebrospinal fluid demonstrated findings which are discussed in detail and correlated to the histochemical changes. In addition, comparisons are made with the cerebrospinal fluids in Tay-Sach's and Niemann-Pick's disease. This too revealed important differences between the various neurolipidoses.

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a viral infectious disease of the central nervous system caused by the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV). TBE is usually a biphasic disease and in humans the virus can only be detected during the first (unspecific) phase of the disease. Pathogenesis of TBE is not well understood, but both direct viral effects and immune-mediated tissue damage of the central nervous system may contribute to the natural course of TBE. The effect of TBEV on the innate immune system has mainly been studied in vitro and in mouse models. Characterization of human immune responses to TBEV is primarily conducted in peripheral blood and cerebrospinal fluid, due to the inaccessibility of brain tissue for sample collection. Natural killer (NK) cells and T cells are activated during the second (meningo-encephalitic) phase of TBE. The potential involvement of other cell types has not been examined to date. Immune cells from peripheral blood, in particular neutrophils, T cells, B cells and NK cells, infiltrate into the cerebrospinal fluid of TBE patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Borsche ◽  
Dirk Reichel ◽  
Anja Fellbrich ◽  
Anne S. Lixenfeld ◽  
Johann Rahmöller ◽  
...  

AbstractNeurological long-term sequelae are increasingly considered an important challenge in the recent COVID-19 pandemic. However, most evidence for neurological symptoms after SARS-CoV-2 infection and central nervous system invasion of the virus stems from individuals severely affected in the acute phase of the disease. Here, we report long-lasting cognitive impairment along with persistent cerebrospinal fluid anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in a female patient with unremarkable standard examination 6 months after mild COVID-19, supporting the implementation of neuropsychological testing and specific cerebrospinal fluid investigation also in patients with a relatively mild acute disease phase.


Life ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 300
Author(s):  
Petr Kelbich ◽  
Aleš Hejčl ◽  
Jan Krejsek ◽  
Tomáš Radovnický ◽  
Inka Matuchová ◽  
...  

Extravasation of blood in the central nervous system (CNS) represents a very strong damaged associated molecular patterns (DAMP) which is followed by rapid inflammation and can participate in worse outcome of patients. We analyzed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 139 patients after the CNS hemorrhage. We compared 109 survivors (Glasgow Outcome Score (GOS) 5-3) and 30 patients with poor outcomes (GOS 2-1). Statistical evaluations were performed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and the Mann–Whitney U test. Almost the same numbers of erythrocytes in both subgroups appeared in days 0–3 (p = 0.927) and a significant increase in patients with GOS 2-1 in days 7–10 after the hemorrhage (p = 0.004) revealed persistence of extravascular blood in the CNS as an adverse factor. We assess 43.3% of patients with GOS 2-1 and only 27.5% of patients with GOS 5-3 with low values of the coefficient of energy balance (KEB < 15.0) in days 0–3 after the hemorrhage as a trend to immediate intensive inflammation in the CNS of patients with poor outcomes. We consider significantly higher concentration of total protein of patients with GOS 2-1 in days 0–3 after hemorrhage (p = 0.008) as the evidence of immediate simultaneously manifested intensive inflammation, swelling of the brain and elevation of intracranial pressure.


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