The Rise of Neuropathology

by Craig Olson
Neuropathology has a long and rich history. In the 19th century some brilliant scientists made names for themselves including Virchow, Alzheimer, Nissl, Kraepelin, Meynert, and many others. Many of these were from Germany, but Meynert, although born in Germany, moved to Vienna, Austria. Meynert was one of Freud's teachers. Freud strayed from the right path, however. At that time psychiatry used neuropathology as a research tool. Psychiatry then strayed from this path, but a few diehards continued to follow the scientific course.

	Fuzzy Science Unfortunately not all that claims to be science is real science. In fact, some is science fiction. This was the case with the Frenchman Gall, who is now considered to have been a quack. However, Gall was not completely wrong. Gall felt that specific brain functions were localized in specific parts of the brain. This is now known to be true, but in the 19th century this theory spawned the bogus science of phrenology.
	Melanin Melanin pigments are found in the skin and also in the brain. The form of melanin seen in the brain is dark, and it is called "neuromelanin". Neuromelanin comes from dopamine, and therefore reflects dopamine metabolism. Psychiatric drugs increase melanin production, and this causes bad side effects. One of these side effects is the fact that people on many psychiatric medications sunburn very easily. If you are on psychiatric medications, you should limit your expose to the sun. Also you should not go to tanning salons. Neuromelanin also increases due to psychiatric medications, according to Canadian scientists (Greiner & Nicholson). Unfortunately this can cause an artifact in neuropathology studies. For more information on neuropathology, consult the home page.
	GURD (1920) American neuropathologists made names for themselves in the 20th century, including Cotton, Southard, Gurd, and others. Cotton and Southard were from Harvard. Gurd was from Ann Arbor, Michigan. "Some small phagocytic cells are seen containing lipoid pigment." What this means is that scavenger cells in the brain were probably digesting remnants of cells that died (necrosis). "This paleness is observed equally in all portions of the brain." The interpretation of this finding is difficult, but it could be due to the destruction of the Nissl bodies, which are dark. Comments and questions about these matters should be sent to the author by e-mail.
	NISSL The Nissl bodies were named after the brilliant German scientist Franz Nissl. Although Nissl did not know what these bodies did, it is now known that they take amino acids and convert them into protein. This is done with the help of RNA. Nissl studied dementia praecox and found "severe alterations" in the axons.
	EWALD HECKER Hecker was a brilliant German neuropathologist who worked with Kahlbaum (the inventor of the term "catatonia"). Hecker described "hebephrenia". Hecker was born in 1843 and died of a series of strokes in 1909.
	CONCLUSIONS Conclusions are difficult but important. This is a neverending story with discoveries still being made. Gurd reported "heavy deposits of lipoid substances are seen in all of the smaller and dedium sized pyramidal cells". Similar findings were reported by Cotton, Southard, Alzheimer, and others. Nissl invented a stain, which is now called "Nissl's stain". In this stain the nerve cells were pale, according to Gurd. Gurd referred to "protoplasmic bodies", which are now called "Nissl bodies". This may be difficult for some readers, but herein may lie the key to schizophrenia. Schizophrenia may be a grevious error of amino acid metabolism which caused the Nissl bodies to be destroyed. Amino acids may be flooding the cells, which would also explain the fat deposits because the cells are overeating. The pigment is yet another clue in the mystery story. The pigment may represent neuromelanin, which is a product of dopamine metabolism.
	Normal Neuron This type of neuron is seen in the white matter. The myelin sheath is white.
	This clipart of synaptic bulbs is from Excitable Cells, which is a website. Neurons are excitable cells. Muscle cells are also excitable, but the cell shown here is a neuron.