A morphometric study on sural nerves in metachromatic leucodystrophy.

This study reexamines peripheral neuropathy in infantile, juvenile and adult metachromatic leucodystrophy. A computer-assisted method was used which gives more detailed information on abnormal fibre structure from scatter diagrams of the g ratio (axon diameter/fibre diameter). The data show marked and statistically significant reductions in sheath thickness, particularly for the thick myelinated fibres, and most severe in the juvenile and adult forms. This is interpreted as evidence of remodelling of virtually the entire fibre population, without a clear-cut selectivity for either thin or thick fibres.