Acidophilic crystalline inclusion body in the caudate nerve cells.

Acidophilic crystalline inclusion bodies (ACBs) within the cytoplasm of large neurons of the caudate nucleus and putamen were described. ACB was eosinophilic needle-shaped intracytoplasmic material and electronmicroscopically composed of filamentous material. Some were found in the cisterns of rough-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum. There was no histochemical and electronmicroscopic similarity between ACB and Mallory's hyaline bodies of hepatocytes. Though ACBs were noted in a high incidence in alcohol drinkers (65.7%), particularly suffering of alcoholic encephalopathy (72.2%), they were also found in patients without drinking habit (53.9%). In the latter cases, the incidence was high in aged people and patients dying of debilitating diseases (75%) or malignant tumors (57.1%). Consequently, ACB is not pathognomonic for chronic alcoholisms. On histochemical and electron microscopic studies, ACB was considered as a proteinic material, originated from rough-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum, and resulted from some disordered protein synthesis of the neurons.