An ultrastructural study of the retina in human late infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy. 1993

H H Goebel, and J Lehmann
Division of Neuropathology, University of Mainz, Germany.

A case involving a girl who died at 11 years of age and who had developed normally until the age of 18 months, at which time further psychomotor maturation stopped and then regressed, is reported. The patient appeared hypotonic and showed loss of deep tendon reflexes, as well as bulbar signs and increasing immobility. Visual impairment resulted in blindness at the age of 7 years. Her disease was diagnosed as late infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy (LINAD) after examination of sural nerve biopsy samples and after autopsy. Under electron microscopy, retinal axons were filled with tubulocisternal profiles and occasional large lamellar clefts close to or distant from synaptic complexes. These lesions, typical of LINAD, were largely found in interior layers of the retina rather than in outer ones. As photoreceptors were preserved and their synaptic contacts within the outer nuclear layer appeared somewhat intact, blindness in LINAD is of the neuronal type, possibly all along the pathway from the bipolar retinal layer to the striate cortex. The findings also indicate that only particular types of axons or synaptic complexes may be involved in LINAD, and that the formation of lesions characteristic of LINAD is not ubiquitous within the retina. The cause for this selective involvement of retinal structures in LINAD remains to be resolved.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D006984 Hypertrophy General increase in bulk of a part or organ due to CELL ENLARGEMENT and accumulation of FLUIDS AND SECRETIONS, not due to tumor formation, nor to an increase in the number of cells (HYPERPLASIA). Hypertrophies
D008526 Medulla Oblongata The lower portion of the BRAIN STEM. It is inferior to the PONS and anterior to the CEREBELLUM. Medulla oblongata serves as a relay station between the brain and the spinal cord, and contains centers for regulating respiratory, vasomotor, cardiac, and reflex activities. Accessory Cuneate Nucleus,Ambiguous Nucleus,Arcuate Nucleus of the Medulla,Arcuate Nucleus-1,External Cuneate Nucleus,Lateral Cuneate Nucleus,Nucleus Ambiguus,Ambiguus, Nucleus,Arcuate Nucleus 1,Arcuate Nucleus-1s,Cuneate Nucleus, Accessory,Cuneate Nucleus, External,Cuneate Nucleus, Lateral,Medulla Oblongatas,Nucleus, Accessory Cuneate,Nucleus, Ambiguous,Nucleus, External Cuneate,Nucleus, Lateral Cuneate
D009132 Muscles Contractile tissue that produces movement in animals. Muscle Tissue,Muscle,Muscle Tissues,Tissue, Muscle,Tissues, Muscle
D009410 Nerve Degeneration Loss of functional activity and trophic degeneration of nerve axons and their terminal arborizations following the destruction of their cells of origin or interruption of their continuity with these cells. The pathology is characteristic of neurodegenerative diseases. Often the process of nerve degeneration is studied in research on neuroanatomical localization and correlation of the neurophysiology of neural pathways. Neuron Degeneration,Degeneration, Nerve,Degeneration, Neuron,Degenerations, Nerve,Degenerations, Neuron,Nerve Degenerations,Neuron Degenerations
D009422 Nervous System Diseases Diseases of the central and peripheral nervous system. This includes disorders of the brain, spinal cord, cranial nerves, peripheral nerves, nerve roots, autonomic nervous system, neuromuscular junction, and muscle. Neurologic Disorders,Nervous System Disorders,Neurological Disorders,Disease, Nervous System,Diseases, Nervous System,Disorder, Nervous System,Disorder, Neurologic,Disorder, Neurological,Disorders, Nervous System,Disorders, Neurologic,Disorders, Neurological,Nervous System Disease,Nervous System Disorder,Neurologic Disorder,Neurological Disorder
D012160 Retina The ten-layered nervous tissue membrane of the eye. It is continuous with the OPTIC NERVE and receives images of external objects and transmits visual impulses to the brain. Its outer surface is in contact with the CHOROID and the inner surface with the VITREOUS BODY. The outer-most layer is pigmented, whereas the inner nine layers are transparent. Ora Serrata
D012164 Retinal Diseases Diseases involving the RETINA. Disease, Retinal,Diseases, Retinal,Retinal Disease
D002648 Child A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL. Children
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man

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