Are hypertrophic astrocytes a sufficient criterion of perinatal telencephalic leucoencephalopathy?
To determine if the presence of amphophilic globules (GL) in infant cerebral white matter was a necessary criterion of perinatal telencephalic leucoencephalopathy (PTL), the epidemiological features of infants who had PTL-that is, hypertrophic astrocytes and amphophilic globules (HA·GL)-in their cerebral white matter were compared with those of infants who had hypertrophic astrocytes, but who did not have amphophilic globules (HA·[unk]). Postmortem bacteraemia was seen much more frequently in infants with HA·GL than in infants with HA·[unk] (P<0·05). In addition, infants with HA·GL tended to die at older postnatal ages than infants with HA·[unk]. These observations are in keeping with the view that HA·GL and HA·[unk] are not epidemiologically identical. The operational definition of PTL therefore remains the occurrence of both HA and GL in infant cerebral white matter.
D000367:Age Factors; D001344:Autopsy; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006984:Hypertrophy; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases; D007968:Leukoencephalopathy, Progressive Multifocal / Q000150:complications / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D009457:Neuroglia; D018805:Sepsis / Q000209:etiology; D013687:Telencephalon / Q000473:pathology*