Histopathology of Hydrocephalus Resulting from a Deficiency of Vit. B12.

Abstract

Female rats were depleted of vitamin B12 by feeding them a deficient ration from weaning to maturity. They were then allowed to reproduce and 10% of their offspring were hydrocephalic. The cerebral aqueduct was occluded in 19 of the hydrocephalic brains and was stenotic and irregularly shaped in the other 15 examined. The choroid plexus had lost its normal architecture. The cytoplasm of many cells was disrupted and granular and much fragmentation into the ventricular cavity had occurred. The cells were filled with lipid and the fragments of debris were fatty in nature. The ependymal lining in most hydrocephalic brains was missing or deranged and the cells contained large amounts of lipid. The tall columnar cells normally present in the roof of the third ventricle were irregularly present. Hence, their significance in prevention of hydrocephalus was questioned.