[Pathological analysis of heroin spongiform leukoencephalopathy].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the pathological characteristics of heroin spongiform leukoencephalopathy (HSLE).


METHODS
Cerebral tissue specimens were obtained from 15 patients with HSLE and the histological observations under optical and electron microscopes were carried out by HE, Bielschowsky's, and chromotrope 2R-brilliant green staining.


RESULTS
HSLE was characterized primarily by spongiform vacuolar degeneration of the cerebral white matter. Neurons in the gray matter, Purkinje and granular cells in the cerebella remain intact in all the cases. Numerous vacuoles, which merged to form larger cavities, appeared in the damaged white matter, and the axons survived in the deep white matter. The myelin sheath in the cerebellar white matter sustained more severe damages than those in the cerebral white matter. No vacuoles or lymphocyte infiltration occurred in the small peripheral vessels.


CONCLUSIONS
HSLE is pathologically characterized by vacuolar degeneration due to primary damage of the myelin, and the spongiform vacuolar degeneration is closely associated with the severity of demyelination in the white matter.
Yin
Jia
J
Department of Neurology, Nangfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China. yinjia@263.net
Pan
Su-yue
SY
Zhou
Liang
L
Lü
Tian-min
TM
Luo
Yi-feng
YF
Lu
Bing-xun
BX
D000328:Adult; D001344:Autopsy; D017825:Canavan Disease / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D006556:Heroin Dependence / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008875:Middle Aged; D009474:Neurons / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000379:methods; D055815:Young Adult