Endothelial Intracisternal Tubular Inclusions in a Case of Chronic Encephalitis Associated with Immunological Deficiency

A slowly progressive encephalopathy in a 10 years old child with hypogammaglobulinemia was shown, on examination of a brain biopsy, to be due to an inflammatory disease of the brain.

The lesions were typical of encephalitis but the ultrastructural study and culture of the brain failed to reveal any virus. Numerous intracisternal tubular inclusions (I. T. I.) measuring approximatively 220 A in diameter were seen in the endothelial cells of the brain vessels.

This structure has been reported, under a variety of pathological and experimental conditions including auto-immune diseases, tumours, continuous cultures of blood leucocytes from patients with various diseases, virus induced tumors and experimental encephalitis in animals.

The nature of this structure is discussed and it is felt that their is a relationship between the I.T. I. and viral infection.

The possibility of chronic encephalitis in cases of hypogammaglobulinemia, and the occurrence of I. T. I. both in auto-immune diseases and in diseases with an immunological deficiency are points of interest.

Encephalitis - inclusion bodies - immunodeficiency