69506 - Stains for brains and nervous tissue

Negri Bodies

• Intracytoplasmic, eosinophilic inclusions
• Neurons infected with rabies virus

Stains:

• Phloxine-tartrazine stain
• Mann’s Stain (Methyl blue-eosin)
• Papanicolaou stain
• Immunohistochemistry
• Paneth cells good control

Lewy Body

• Large spherical intracytoplasmic inclusions of protein in neurons
• Seen in Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body dementia, and other neuronal disorders

Pick Body

• Large, round cytoplasmic inclusion
• Bloated neurons (balloon cells)
• Present in Pick’s disease (also known as frontotemporal dementia)

Stains:

• Positive with classic silver stains (such as Bielschowsky and Bodian)
• Negative with Gallyas technique

Neuromelanin

• Black pigmented granules
• By-product of the synthesis of monoamine neurotransmitters
• Found in neurons in the substantia nigra and locus coeruleus of the brain, these neurons undergo degenerantion during Parkinson’s disease
• Demonstration using routine dermal melanin stains (with modifications)
• Note Lewy body in centre of neuron

Lipofuscin

• Yellow-brown granules
• Pigment associated with aging

Senile Plaques

• Also known as amyloid plaques (contain amyloid-β protein)
• Seen in degenerative dementias
• Disruption of neuropils

Stains:

• Silver methods
• Periodic acid–Schiff
• Congo Red
• Sulphated Alcian Blue
• Thioflavine S

Neurofibrillary Tangles

• Aggregates of hyperphosphorylated tau protein
• Seen in degenerative dementias
• Primary biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease

Polyglucosan Bodies

• Glycogen storage disorder

Stains:

• Positive withPeriodic acid–Schiff and Lugol’s Iodine
• These can include Corpora amylacea, Lafora bodies, and Bielschowsky bodies