[Ultrastructure of the substantia nigra in schizophrenia]

The compact portion of the substantia nigra containing dopamine neurons was studied at autopsy in schizophrenics and in a control group. Neurons presented pathological inclusions composed of electron dense material in the form of parallel rows of microstructures which were not observed in the control. It is postulated that they originate from microtubules in neuronal bodies and neurofilaments in neuronal processes. The authors revealed dystrophic-destructive changes in axon terminals in synapses on spikes, dendrites of variable diameters and the neuronal soma with hyperproduction of the membranous structures and reduction in the size of the active zone of synapses. Membranous structures were also detected both inside and outside myelin fibers. The data obtained are suggestive of a peculiar dystrophic process in neurons related probably to protein metabolic disorder and dystrophic-destructive changes in afferent systems of one of the dopamine areas of the brain.