[Pathology of the nervous system: clinico-morphologic study in multiple myeloma]

Histopathologic changes in the brain and spinal cord in multiple myeloma are similar to those seen in toxic encephalopathy with circulatory disorders. Irreversible morphologic changes in the brain and spinal cord are more pronounced in the encephalopathic syndrome. The structures affected most are the cerebral cortex, brain pedicles, medulla oblongata, spinal cord and its radicles. Histopathologic changes include acute nerve cell swelling, primary irritation, cytoplasmic fatty infiltration, shrinkage, excessive lipofucsin deposition, demyelination and diminished numbers of nerve fibers, and predominantly dystrophic, rather than hyperplastic, changes in the glia.