Experimental disseminated encephalomyelitis in white mice.

Disseminated encephalomyelitis was readily induced in mice of the Swiss strain by means of repeated intramuscular and subcutaneous injections of apparently normal mouse brain mixed with an adjuvant. The latter consisted of autoclaved virulent tubercle bacilli and heavy liquid petrolatum, a modification of the Freund adjuvant. The syndrome and the histopathological picture of the induced malady were essentially similar to those in monkeys, rabbits, and guinea pigs, previously reported by others. Certain exceptional characteristics of the affection, as occurring in mice, suggest that they may be the animals of choice for its study as well as for that of other encephalitides. Not only were the signs indicative of marked involvement of the central nervous system but also of the respiratory mechanism, and only a few injections of mouse brain-adjuvant mixture were required to evoke the neurological symptom complex in almost every animal.