Pathological features of the spinal cord (L4) in patients with CIDP
| Patient | Population of left ventral horn neurons (No /50 sections) | Ta-51-positive ventral horn neurons | Central chromatolysis of ventral horn neurons | Reactive astrogliosis in ventral horn | Degeneration of dorsal columns | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large | Medium sized | Small | Total | ||||||||
| 1 | 291 | 242 | 1296 | 1829 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +1 | |||
| 2 | 394 | 433 | 1369 | 2196 | +2 | +2 | +1 | 0 | |||
| 3 | 403 | 439 | 1668 | 2510 | +2 | +2 | +3 | +3 | |||
| 4 | 461 | 477 | 1604 | 2542 | +1 | 0 | +3 | 0 | |||
| 5 | 464 | 423 | 1525 | 2412 | +1 | +2 | +1 | +1 | |||
| 6 | 467 | 491 | 2007 | 2965 | +1 | 0 | +2 | 0 | |||
| 7 | 508 | 640 | 1841 | 2989 | 0 | +2 | +1 | 0 | |||
| 8 | 585 | 521 | 1687 | 2793 | +1 | +1 | +3 | +1 | |||
| 9 | 617 | 729 | 2368 | 3714 | +1 | +2 | +1 | +1 | |||
| Control (n=7) | 632 (55) | 567 (83) | 2135 (156) | 3335 (185) | |||||||
The diameter of large neurons: ⩾32.8 μm; medium sized neurons: ⩾24.8 − <32.8 μm, small neurons: <24.8 μm. The control data were obtained from seven patients who died of non-neurological diseases at 49 to 73 years of age, and expressed as mean (SD). Values < mean − 3 SD of controls are in bold. The degrees of Ta-51 positive neurons were determined by the criteria: 0= <5% of the total population; +1=⩾5 − <12.5%; +2=⩾12.5%. The extent of central chromatolysis was determined as: 0=< 5%; +1=⩾5 − < 10%; +2=⩾10%. Reactive astrogliosis was evaluated semiquantitatively as 0 (minimal); +1 (mild); +2 (moderate); +3 (severe), using a Holzer stain and immunohistochemistry for glial fibrillary acidic protein. Degeneration of the dorsal columns was assessed semiquantitatively as 0 (none to minimal); +1 (mild); +2 (moderate); +3 (severe).