02045nas a2200361   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653000900055653002200064653001000086653001100096653001100107653001200118653000900130653002900139653002900168653001600197653002200213100001300235700001300248700001200261700001400273700001200287700001500299700001100314700001600325245007400341856004100415300001100456490000700467520119500474022001401669       2004                            d  c2004 Jun10aAged10aAged, 80 and over10aAxons10aFemale10aHumans10aleprosy10aMale10aMicroscopy, Fluorescence10aMicroscopy, Interference10aMiddle Aged10aPeripheral nerves1 aFuruta M1 aHatano K1 aOkano Y1 aMatsuki T1 aIkeda T1 aNakatani K1 aSato A1 aMizushima M00aAxonal spherical bodies in the peripheral nerves of leprosy patients.  uhttp://ila.ilsl.br/pdfs/v72n2a07.pdf  a159-650 v723 a<p>Spherical bodies, roughly 10 micro m in diameter, which have not been reported before, were found in the peripheral nerve axons of specimens collected during post-mortem examination of leprosy patients. These bodies were found in the fascicles of all peripheral nerves of the extremities examined (median, radial, ulnar, peroneal and sciatic nerves). Their incidence was not related to the type of leprosy. The area immediately below the thickened perineurium, a feature associated with leprosy, often showed a large number of spherical bodies. When observed under a transmission electron microscope, the spherical lesions often showed a lamellar structure, although some of them were amorphous. No structure resembling organelles was seen within the bodies. Observation with the merge technique showed a clearly lamellar structure in most of the spherical bodies. These bodies and the surrounding myelin sheaths were partially polarized. The axonal spherical bodies observed in our study seem to represent lesions gradually formed due to glycoprotein denaturation over long periods of time and to be associated with leprosy-caused thickening of the perineurium of peripheral nerves.</p>  a0148-916X