[Changes in the levels and composition of glycolipids in various sections of the spinal cord of patients with spinal tuberculosis].

The post mortem content and composition of cerebrosides, sulfocerebrosides and gangliosides found in different sections of the spinal marrow of the healthy persons and 5 patients with spinal tuberculosis were analysed. It was shown that the changes in the content of gangliosides were varying in the lesion focus of different patients. In all patients with chronic tuberculous spondylitis, a significant drop in the content of cerebrosides (myelin markers) and sulfocerebrosides in the lesion focus, as compared with controls, was detected. There were some changes found in the content of cerebrosides and gangliosides in the spinal marrow lesion focus, which are also typical of the disease associated with demyelination of the nervous system. The findings suggest that identification of blood anti-cerebroside antibodies in patients with spinal tuberculosis allows one to make an early diagnosis of abnormalities in the cellular structures of nervous tissue in this form of the disease and to predict its course.