[Pathogenesis of amyotrophic leukospongiosis reproduced in guinea pigs by retrobulbar infection].

Pathogenesis of amyotrophic leukospongiosis (ALSP) with a short incubation period induced in guinea pigs was studied. After retrobulbar inoculation, the unconventional ALSP virus disseminated both neurogenically (along the optic nerve) and hematogenically. At early stages of the disease the spleen appeared to play the leading role in multiplication and/or accumulation of the agent. The earliest morphological sign of the CNS involvement was vacuolation of motoneuron cytoplasm. The ALSP agent first affected the spinal motoneurons, then an ascending pathological process developed. In the terminal stage of the disease, the unconventional ALSP virus was also detected in visceral tissue, besides the CNS, spleen, and peripheral blood lymphocytes.