Progress in neuropathology of the neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses.

Abstract Since the last, 6th, International Congress on Neuronal Ceroid-Lipofuscinoses, neuropathological advances in neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCL) have been made in several areas: (1) In adult NCL (ANCL) lipopigments have now been repeatedly confirmed to contain subunit c of mitochondrial ATP synthase and even sphingolipid activators (saposins). ANCL lipopigments have also been confirmed in extracerebral tissues including skin, skeletal muscle, and spleen, but not yet lymphocytes (2). Among circulating blood cells not only B cells and subclasses of T lymphocytes, i.e., CD4 + , CD8 + , and CD56 cells, but also monocytes have been found to contain NCL lipopigments, indicating that thi…