EFFECT OF NUTRITION ON THE PRODUCTION OF ACUTE DISSEMINATED ENCEPHALOMYELITIS IN MICE

Abstract

The susceptibility of homozygous BSVS mice to acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADE) has been found to be nutritionally dependent. On a laboratory stock regimen of commercial fox chow pellets, whole wheat bread, and milk this genotype is 100 per cent susceptible to the disease. On a "synthetic" diet, containing a minimal list of vitamins adequate for growth and maintenance, susceptibility was found to be reduced to 15 per cent. Supplementation of the "synthetic" diet with biotin, folic acid, and vitamin B₁₂ restored susceptibility to a frequency of 70 per cent. Increasing the supplements tenfold had no further effect in restoring susceptibility frequencies to the 100 per cent level.