Ultrastructure of peripheral lymphocytes in generalized ceroid-lipofuscinosis. Report of a case

Electron microscopic observation was made on the peripheral blood cells obtained from a 4-year-old boy with generalized ceroid-lipofuscinosis (GCL), and two kinds of significant inclusions were found in the cytoplasm of lymphocytes. One was ceroid-lipofuscin accompanied with the fingerprint pattern, and the other was a lamellar body which showed the concentric lamellar structure or the myelin figure. Ceroid-lipofuscin was found in 40% of peripheral lymphocytes. It is important in diagnosing GCL that ceroid-lipofuscin can be detected with high incidence in lymphocytes of peripheral blood.