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Lipofuscin in the cerebellar cortex of albino rats: An electron microscopic study

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Summary

The ultrastructure of autofluorescent, PAS-positive lipofuscin in Purkinje, granule, Golgi epithelial, basket and stellate, microglial and perivascular cells in the cerebellar cortex of senescent rats is described. The membrane-bounded pigment is composed of three elements: 1) electron-lucent homogeneous droplets, 2) a granular matrix and 3) intensely osmiophilic patches. The proportions of these three components vary between cell types and one can grossly differentiate a neuronal and a glial lipofuscin. The lipofuscin granules of stellate and perivscular cells are different from lipofuscin of other cerebellar neurons and glia. It can be concluded from these morphological observations that each cerebellar cell type has its distinct lipofuscin.

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  1. Abt. Anatomie der RWTH Aachen, Melatener Str. 211, D-5100, Aachen, Federal Republic of Germany

    H. Heinsen

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  1. H. Heinsen
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Supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft La 184/5

I would like to thank Mrs. v. Bronewski and Mr. H. Boffin for their technical assistance

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Heinsen, H. Lipofuscin in the cerebellar cortex of albino rats: An electron microscopic study. Anat Embryol 155, 333–345 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00317646

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