Quantitative automated analysis of sural nerve biopsies from patients with uraemic polyneuropathy
Abstract
A controlled automatic method of human cross section analysis was used to study myelinated fibres in sural nerves. The biopsies were performed on 8 uraemic patients with polyneuropathy and 3 controls. The microscopic image was transmitted by a Plumbicon television camera to a Cambridge Instruments image analyser (QTT 720) connected to a digital computer PDP 11/34. The measured variables included fibre density, the histograms of fibre diameters and myelin sheath thickness. Rapid and precise results were obtained by this method. They demonstrated axonal loss in uraemic patients and suggested demyelination in one patient. The method used in association with single fibre studies allowed us to demonstrate different clinico-pathologic patterns of uraemic polyneuropathy, including an acute axonal degeneration with secondary demyelination or a predominantly demyelinating neuropathy associated with slight axonal pathology.