Oligodendroglial microtubular tangles in multiple system atrophy

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Abstract
Oligodendroglial microtubular tangles (OMT) were observed in the central nervous system in 10 cases of multiple system atrophy (MSA) including eight cases of sporadic olivopontocerebellar atrophy and one case of Shy‐Drager syndrome and one of striatonigral degeneration. There was no OMT in two cases of hereditary spinocerebellar degeneration, nor in 46 cases with various neurological and non‐neurological diseases. The distribution of OMT was correlated with the location of neurodegenerative changes due to MSA, and the number of OMT with the severity of those changes. Immunoreactivity with anti‐ubiquitin and α B‐crystallin antibodies was observed by immunohistochemical procedures. It is suggested that the OMT is a pathognomonic change of MSA and confirms the validity of the concept of MSA as a disease entity.