Intracytoplasmic neuronal inclusions in the human thalamus

Intracytoplasmic cosinophilic inclusions were found by light microscopy in the thalamic neurons of 35 consecutive normal adult brains and in a case of myotonic dystrophy, but not in six newborn children, including one with myotonic dystrophy. Histochemical tests suggested a protein composition. Ultrastructurally, the inclusions were composed of stacks of parallel alternating dark and light rectilinear profiles not surrounded by a limiting membrane. Such inclusions are a virtually constant finding in the adult human thalamus and probably represent sites of neuronal protein storage.