The incidence of ultrastructural abnormalities in the cortex of two retarded human brains (Down's syndrome)

In a quantitative electronmicroscopic study, autopsy samples from the frontal and temporal lobes of two severely defective mongoloid brains were examined for the presence of abnormalities in the ultrastructure of the cerebral cortex. Particular attention was paid to the occurrence of atypical neuronal and glial inclusions similar to those which occur in small numbers (1 in 5000 mu2 of cortex) in neurologically normal brain (Rees, 1975). An area of 3.6 x 10(5) mu2 of cortex was examined from each brain. Within the cortical parenchyma, there was no gliosis, neuronal death or areas of degeneration. Atypical neuronal and glial inclusions were observed in both of the retarded brains, but they did not occur in substantially different numbers from normal brains. There were no inclusions or structural abnormalities peculiar to the retarded brains. Thus, in these two defective brains, it has not been possible to demonstrate any specific abnormalities in the ultrastructure of the cortex.