[Bacillary dysentery with involvement of the central and peripheral nervous system (author's transl)]

A man, age 50, fell ill with polyneuropathy followed by parkinsonism and organic psychosis and died in a shock 6 weeks later. Serologic examination suggested bacillary dysentery, but the patient had no diarrhoea. The neuropathological examination did not reveal any organic substrat of parkinsonism. Peripheral nerves showed mucoid degeneration, segmental demyelination and lymphocytic infiltration of peri- and endoneurium. Many Renaut bodies were found which seemed to arise from mucoid masses organized by cells of the endoneurium. Polyneuropathy and parkinsonism are well known neurological complications of bacillary dysentery and favour this diagnosis in accord with the serological findings.