Dendritic spine pathology in infants with severe protein-calorie malnutrition
Dendritic spine pathology in infants with severe protein-calorie malnutrition
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DOI：
10.1542/peds.104.2.e21
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发表时间：
1999-08-01
期刊：
影响因子：
8
通讯作者：
Mansilla-Olivares, A
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Benítez-Bribiesca, L;De la Rosa-Alvarez, I;Mansilla-Olivares, A
背景。在大脑发育的关键时期，动物的实验性营养不良会导致大脑发育迟缓以及神经元（主要是树突突触器）的许多不同形态和功能异常。这些改变是实验性营养不良导致神经整合发育不良的原因。众所周知，人类出生后早期的严重营养不良会产生类似的神经综合障碍和智力迟钝，但很少有研究描述患有这种疾病的婴儿树突结构的形态。研究严重营养不良死亡婴儿的树突棘密度和皮质神经元树突形态。采用快速高尔基法对13例死于严重营养不良的婴儿和7例死于其他原因的富营养化婴儿的躯体、运动和枕皮质区进行脑切片研究。对皮层第5层神经元的树突棘进行了研究，并在各切片中进行了计数。营养不良婴儿的根尖树突明显短于对照组（严重营养不良婴儿为581.54±54.32 μ m，正常婴儿为846.3 μ m）。每个树突的树突棘数也显著减少（营养不良婴儿为185.3 +/- 36.1，营养不良婴儿为374.3 +/- 41.6）。死于严重营养不良的婴儿树突棘有明显的形态学异常，可归类为发育不良。短的根尖树突，较少的脊柱，和树突状脊柱异常发生在严重的婴儿营养不良。这些解剖异常可能与这些儿童出现的神经心理缺陷有关。
Background. Experimental undernutrition in animals, during the critical brain development period, produces retardation of brain growth as well as a number of different morphologic and functional abnormalities in neurons, mainly in the dendritic synaptic apparatus. These alterations are the cause of the poor neurointegrative development that occurs in experimental malnutrition. Severe malnutrition during early postnatal life in humans is known to produce similar neurointegrative disorders as well as mental retardation, but there are very few studies describing the morphology of the dendritic apparatus in infants suffering from this condition.Objective. To study the dendritic spine density and morphology in dendrites from cortical neurons in infants dying from severe malnutrition.Methodology. brain sections from the somestesic, motor, and occipital cortical areas of 13 infants who died of severe malnutrition and 7 eutrophic infants who died of other causes were studied by means of the rapid Golgi method. Apical dendritic spines from neurons of the fifth cortical layer were studied and counted in all sections.Results. Apical dendrites were significantly shorter in malnourished infants than in the control group (581.54 +/- 54.32 mu m in severe malnutrition vs 846.3 mu m in normal infants). The number of dendritic spines per dendrite was also significantly diminished (185.3 +/- 36.1 in malnourished vs 374.3 +/- 41.6 in eutrophic infants). There were marked morphologic abnormalities in the dendritic spines of infants dying of severe malnutrition that were classified as dysplastic.Conclusions. Short apical dendrites, fewer spines, and dendritic spine abnormalities occur in severe infant malnutrition. These anatomic anomalies might be related to the neuropsychological deficits that occur in these children.