Rickert Christian H, Gros Oliver, Nolte Kay W, Vennemann Mechtild, Bajanowski Thomas, Brinkmann Bernd
Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital Münster, Germany.
Acta Neuropathol. 2009 Mar;117(3):275-82. doi: 10.1007/s00401-009-0489-0. Epub 2009 Feb 11.
Developmental abnormalities of the brain, in particular, the brainstem potentially affecting centers for breathing, circulation and sleep regulation, are thought to be involved in the etiology of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). In order to investigate whether leptomeningeal neurons could serve as morphological indicators for a developmental failure or retardation in cerebral maturation, we evaluated the density of isolated leptomeningeal neurons (without associated glia) in 15 brain regions of 24 SIDS and 8 control cases, representing part of the German Study on sudden infant death. Leptomeningeal neurons were encountered in 79% of SIDS and 68% of control cases. More leptomeningeal neurons in SIDS versus control cases were found in lower pons (p = 0.002), upper pons (p = 0.016), cerebellar hemispheres (p = 0.012), lower medulla oblongata (p = 0.039), and temporal lobe (p = 0.041). Summarizing the data according to gross anatomical region of origin (i.e., brainstem, cerebellum or cerebrum), higher numbers of leptomeningeal neurons in SIDS cases were only found in the brainstem (p = 0.006 vs. 0.13 and 0.19, respectively). Our data show that single leptomeningeal neurons are present in most normal infantile brains. The age-dependent increase of leptomeningeal neurons among SIDS cases may either (a) represent a delayed maturation or retardation, i.e., a later or slower reduction of neurons or a delayed peak in occurrence (shift toward an older age), or (b) may be interpreted as a generally increased occurrence of leptomeningeal neurons among SIDS cases as a result of a diffuse developmental abnormality during central nervous system maturation.
大脑发育异常，尤其是可能影响呼吸、循环和睡眠调节中枢的脑干发育异常，被认为与婴儿猝死综合征（SIDS）的病因有关。为了研究软脑膜神经元是否可作为大脑成熟发育失败或迟缓的形态学指标，我们评估了24例SIDS病例和8例对照病例（代表德国婴儿猝死研究的一部分）15个脑区中分离出的软脑膜神经元（无相关神经胶质细胞）的密度。在79%的SIDS病例和68%的对照病例中发现了软脑膜神经元。与对照病例相比，SIDS病例在脑桥下部（p = 0.002）、脑桥上部（p = 0.016）、小脑半球（p = 0.012）、延髓下部（p = 0.039）和颞叶（p = 0.041）有更多的软脑膜神经元。根据大体解剖起源区域（即脑干、小脑或大脑）汇总数据，仅在脑干中发现SIDS病例的软脑膜神经元数量较多（分别与对照相比，p = 0.006 vs. 0.13和0.19）。我们的数据表明，大多数正常婴儿大脑中都存在单个软脑膜神经元。SIDS病例中软脑膜神经元数量随年龄增长而增加，这可能（a）代表发育延迟或迟缓，即神经元减少更晚或更慢，或出现峰值延迟（向年龄更大时转变），或者（b）可解释为由于中枢神经系统成熟过程中弥漫性发育异常，SIDS病例中软脑膜神经元普遍增多。
