Basophilic cytoplasmic inclusions in a case of sporadic juvenile amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Abstract

A 24-year-old woman presented with progressive muscle atrophy and weakness of the right upper extremity. Subsequently her weakness rapidly extended to the left upper extremity, neck and lower extremities. Neurological examination disclosed involvement of the lower motor neuron system. She died 7 months after the onset. There was neuronal loss and reactive gliosis in the anterior horns of the spinal cord and much less frequently in the motor cortex. Basophilic cytoplasmic inclusions were observed in the thalamus and brain stem as well as the upper and lower motor neurons. Ultrastructurally, the inclusions lacked a limiting membrane and consisted of a meshwork of filamentous structures associated with granules. The inclusions failed to react with antibodies against phosphorylated neurofilament or cystatin C. Most of the inclusions show no reaction with anti-ubiquitin antibody, however, a few inclusions show granular reaction product deposits with this antibody. The inclusions were not immunostained with antibodies against TGN46 and MG-160, markers of the trans-Golgi network and the medial cisternae of the Golgi apparatus, respectively, suggesting that they were not derived from the Golgi apparatus which was fragmented.