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INTRASPINOUS INFECTION IN EXPERIMENTAL POLIOMYELITIS
Abstract:
By intraspinous injections of specimens of poliomyelitic virus of suitable virulence infection can be caused regularly in Macacus rhesus monkeys. The virus passes from the subarachnoid spaces into the nervous tissues in which it multiplies, and into the blood. The constant involvement of the pia-arachnoid membranes in poliomyelitis, even when no paralysis occurs, and the fact that infection can readily be produced by intraspinous inoculation suggests anew that in the pathogenesis of poliomyelitis the interstitial tissue changes within the meninges, blood vessels, and ground substance play a determining part. While the virus injected into the subarachnoid spaces can be demonstrated there by inoculation tests forty-eight hours after the injection it can no longer be detected on the sixth day, at a time when the first symptoms of infection make their appearance. The failure of the cerebrospinal fluid from human and experimental cases of poliomyelitis to produce the disease when inoculated into monkeys is due to the fact that the virus is either fixed by the nervous tissues or passes into the blood.
Insights
Intraspinous inoculation of poliomyelitis virus in rhesus monkeys causes infection, with the virus spreading to nervous tissues and blood. This highlights the role of meningeal tissue changes in poliomyelitis pathogenesis.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Neurology
- Pathology
Background:
- Poliomyelitis is a significant neurological disease.
- Understanding the pathogenesis of poliomyelitis is crucial for developing effective treatments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the pathogenesis of poliomyelitis using Macacus rhesus monkeys.
- To determine the role of meningeal tissue changes in poliomyelitis infection.
Main Methods:
- Intraspinous injections of poliomyelitis virus into Macacus rhesus monkeys.
- Monitoring virus presence in cerebrospinal fluid and blood.
- Assessing nervous tissue and meningeal involvement.
Main Results:
- Regular infection was achieved in monkeys via intraspinous inoculation.
- The virus disseminates from cerebrospinal fluid to nervous tissues and blood.
- Pia-arachnoid membrane involvement was consistently observed, even without paralysis.
- Virus was detectable in cerebrospinal fluid for 48 hours post-injection but absent by day 6, coinciding with symptom onset.
Conclusions:
- Interstitial tissue changes in meninges, blood vessels, and ground substance are critical in poliomyelitis pathogenesis.
- The disappearance of detectable virus from cerebrospinal fluid is linked to its fixation in nervous tissues or dissemination into the blood.
