The central nervous system in motor neurone disease.
Forty-five necropsied cases with primary degeneration of lower motor neurones are described and discussed. Of these, 36 are considered to be `typical' cases of motor neurone disease, eight of which showed no upper motor neurone lesions. The relation of the nine `atypical' cases to the remainder is discussed. It is concluded that motor neurone disease constitutes an ill-defined band in a broad spectrum of multiple system atrophies. The authors have found no evidence suggesting a causal relation between motor neurone disease and either vascular or malignant diseases. They point out suggestive analogies with various subacute encephalomyelopathies in man and other animals.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005911:Gliosis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009046:Motor Neurons; D009186:Myelin Sheath; D009420:Nervous System / Q000473:pathology; D009457:Neuroglia; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology; D013118:Spinal Cord Diseases / Q000473:pathology*