Summary
Four different regions of the brain (the mamillary bodies, vermis of the cerebellum, the dorsal and medial part of thalamus, and the quadrigeminal plate) from nine male chronic alcoholics and nine controls were analyzed for morphological and biochemical abnormalities. The mamillary bodies, in contrast to the other three regions, showed loss of myelinated fibers and decreased concentrations of cerebrosides, cholesterol and phospholipids, indicating demyelination. It is concluded that this kind of lesion is common in chronic alcoholism.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Dietrich RA (1977) Plasmalogen content of cerebellum samples from alcoholic and nonalcoholic humans. Alcoholism (NY) 1:57–59
Lesch P, Schmidt E, Schmidt FW (1972) Effects of chronic alcohol abuse on the structural lipids in the human brain. Z Klin Chem Klin Biochem 10:410–415
Norton WT (1977) Isolation and characterization of myelin. In: Morell P (ed) Myelin. Plenum Press, New York, pp 161–199
Pollock M (1974) Alcohol and the nervous system. N Z Med J 79: 602–607
Svennerholm L (1964) The distribution of lipids in the human nervous system. I. Analytical procedure. Lipids of foetal and newborn brain. J Neurochem 11:839–853
Svennerholm L (1968) Distribution and fatty acid composition of phosphoglycerides in normal human brain. J Lipid Res 9:570–579
Vanier M-T, Holm M, Öhman R, Svennerholm L (1971) Developmental profiles of gangliosides in human and rat brain. J Neurochem 18:581–592
Victor M, Adams RD, Collins GH (1971) The Wernicke Korsakoff syndrome. Contemporary Neurology Series No. 7, Philadelphia
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Alling, C., Boström, K. Demyelination of the mamillary bodies in alcoholism. Acta Neuropathol 50, 77–80 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00688539
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00688539