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An Ultrastructural Study of Lymphocyte Inclusions

William R. Markesbery, MD; Lloyd K. Shield, MBBS, MRACP; Robert T. Egel, MD; H. Douglas Jameson, MD

Arch Neurol. 1976;33(9):630-635.

Abstract
• Ultrastructural study of peripheral blood from two patients with late-infantile neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis with curvilinear bodies, demonstrated in brain biopsies revealed curvilinear bodies in lymphocytes. These findings indicate that ultrastructural investigation of circulating lymphocytes may be useful in the diagnosis of late-infantile neuronal ceroidlipofuscinosis and may circumvent the need for brain biopsy. Curvilinear bodies were also present in the lymphocytes of a neurologically normal younger female sibling of patient 1, who has had a single seizure, leading to speculation that she may be in the early stages of the same disease. This case suggests the possibility of early detection of this disorder and indicates the importance of screening lymphocytes of siblings of affected patients. Tubular cytoplasm inclusions were present in a high percentage of lymphocytes of the asymptomatic parents and a younger sibling of these patients.

Author Affiliations
From the departments of neurology (Drs Markesbery, Shield, Egel, and Jameson) and pathology (Neuropathology) (Dr Markesbery), University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington.

Footnotes
Accepted for publication Dec 18, 1975.

Reprint requests to Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506 (Dr Markesbery).

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ABSTRACT