SEQUENTIAL DEVELOPMENT OF BRAIN LESIONS OF SCRAPIE IN THREE STRAINS OF MICE

The genesis of the lesions of scrapie in 3 strains of mice under comparable circumstances was investigated, using a system of scoring the brain pathology which depended on an assessment of the intensity of neuronal vacuolation and status spongiosus in paraffin sections stained with haematoxylin and eosin. By applying this method to narrowly defined areas of the brain a quantitative analysis of the distribution of lesions and total brain damage could be arrived at, allowing precise comparisons to be made. There were differences between mouse strains in the rate of development of the lesions, the distribution and intensity of which was characteristic of each strain. Within a single strain, however, the distribution of lesions during the incubatin period was closely similar to the distribution at the end point, differing only in intensity. © 1968.