Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease: a golgi study

A cerebral biopsy of a patient with Creutzfeldt-Jacob (C-J) disease was examined with the Golgi method. Distortion of soma and neuronal processes associated with vacuolization of the neuropil was observed. The main findings were decreased numbers of basal dendrites and of branches of the apical dendrite of the pyramidal cells, marked loss of synaptic spines, and varicosities in the proximal segment of some apical and basal dendrites. These changes, though non-specific, may be interpreted as the result of deafferentation, although primary reactions related to C-J disease cannot be ruled out. These changes underline the intense disruption of intracortical connections which takes place in this condition in addition to the neuronal loss.