• Applied Microscopy
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• 제27권2호
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• pp.177-187
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• 1997

Hydrocephalus is induced experimentally in prenatal and suckling animals following an injection of 6-aminonicotinamide (6-AN). The most remarkable characteristic of these animals is aqueduct stenosis caused by swellings of the ependymal cells and subependymal cells in the periaqueductal gray matter and the central canal of the spinal cord. The present study was undertaken to investigate the morphological changes of the ependymal cells in the central canal of the spinal cord of 3.5 months old hamster after treatment with 6-AN. Intraperitoneal administrations of 6-AN (10 mg/kg body weight) every two days gave rise to partial central canal stenosis of the spinal cord after 27-29 days (13-l4th injection), but cilia and microvilli were located in the strictural area of the con#rat canal. The vacuolations in the ependymal cells were not observed and degenerating changes of intracellular organelles of the ependymal cells did not occur, so that the ependymal cells lining the central canal of the hamster spinal cord were not affected by 6-AN. But the present study demonstrate that 6-AN causes to create numerous vacuoles in the subependymal area of the central canal. Although the vacuoles were well developed in the neuroglial cells and the neuropils of the subependymal area, the neurons were not affected by 6-AN. These results strongly suggests that partial central canal stenosis occurred by 6-AN was due to vacuolations and swellings of the neuroglial cells and nueropils in the subependymal area.