CAPILLAROSCOPIC OBSERVATIONS IN CASES OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

Abstract

EVIDENCES OF VASCULAR DISORDER IN CASES OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SINCE the time of Rindfleisch,¹ disturbances in circulation have been described as a part of the histologic picture of multiple sclerosis by the majority of observers. Some pathologists (Ribbert,² Borst,³ Williamson,⁴ Klingman⁵) have ascribed an etiologic significance to the alterations observed, and one of us (T. J. P.), with various collaborators, has attempted a systematic survey of the hypothesis that the characteristic lesions are the result of vascular closure. Spotty areas of demyelination, with relative preservation of axis-cylinders and a purely ectodermal type of repair, may be produced by experimental venular obstruction,⁶ or may be observed in conjunction with a variety of lesions which embarrass the venous return.⁷ Thrombi are observed in or adjacent to the lesions in about 36 per cent of cases.⁸ This observation has subsequently been confirmed by Dow and