EOSINOPHILIC ROD‐LIKE STRUCTURES IN MYELINATED FIBERS OF HAMSTER SPINAL ROOTS

Eosinophilic rod‐like structures in myelinated fibers of hamster spinal roots The spinal roots of homozygous mutant hamsters carrying the recessive gene for hind leg paralysis as well as normal controls were studied at both the light and electron microscopic levels. Eosinophilic rod‐like inclusions essentially identical to those seen in human brains were observed in the inner loops of Schwann cells of myelinated fibers of the spinal roots. The electron microscope revealed inclusions with the characteristic ‘lattice‐like’ structure as well as other purely filamentous bodies. Both mutant and normal hamsters displayed these changes but they were more frequent in mutant animals.