EXPERIMENTAL ALLERGIC NEURITIS. Cholinesterase activity in autonomic nervous system

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses cholinesterase activity in autonomic nervous system. It describes a study in which experimental allergic neuritis in rabbits was studied by a conventional method using human peripheral nerve tissue as antigen. Ganglion nodosum and vagus nerve were taken from the neck to represent the parasympathetic system; superior cervical and stellate ganglia as well as ganglia and trunks from the paravertebral sympathetic chain in the upper thoracic and abdominal regions were taken to represent the sympathetic system. The samples were homogenized in distilled water, and the activity of the aqueous solutions was determined by a modified method. Both the sympathetic and parasympathetic autonomic system seemed to be involved. The most prominent changes of cholinesterase activity could be seen in the ganglia of the sympathetic chain in the thoracic and abdominal regions. The ganglia of the diseased animals showed 30% lower activities than those of controls. The activity of cholinesterases also seemed to decrease in the vagus nerve and in the ganglion nodosum, but there was little decrease if any in the superior cervical ganglion. In demyelinating diseases, the cell mediated demyelinat ion is regarded to account for the majority of changes in the target tissues.