Intra-axonal Corpora amylacea in ventral and lateral horns of the spinal cord

Abstract

Deposits similar to corpora amylacea were observed by electron microscopy and light microscopy within thin myelinated axons in the spinal gray matter in various diseases. By electron microscopy the deposits consisted of randomly interlacing short linear structures of various thickness which were different from tangles of neurofilaments. Sometimes they contained dense granules and electron-dense floccules. Though their incidence was relatively high in some cases of degenerative or metabolic disease of the central nervous system, they were not specific to any disease but seemed to be related to aging, indicating a peculiar aspect of chronic degeneration of the axons.