OBSERVATIONS ON KURU. III : PATHOLOGICAL FEATURES IN FIVE CASES

SUMMARY Five brains and two spinal cords together with various pieces of viscera from kuru patients have been examined. There was widespread atrophy of neurons in the central nervous system. The affected cells were shrunken and often vacuolated. The structures most prominently involved included the cerebellar cortex (particularly the vermis and flocculo‐nodular lobe), the dentate nucleus, thalamus, corpus striatum, globus pallidus and parts of the cerebral cortex (particularly the anterior central gyrus). In the two spinal cords, degeneration of the spino‐cerebellar and lateral cortico‐spinal tracts was found. Most of the cranial nerve nuclei were spared, and the substantia nigra was minimally involved. No evidence of an infective cause was discovered. Other organs, apart from the central nervous system, showed no significant changes.