Astrocytic reaction in experimental scrapie in hamsters

Severe glial reaction (gliocytosis) in hamsters infected with the 263K strain of scrapie is described. Glicytosis is an extremely rare phenomenon in scrapie-affected mice. In hamsters, however, it forms an important and stable feature of the neuropathology. Both astrocytic hyperplasia and hypertrophy are described. The author discusses briefly the possible contribution of the scrapie agent and of the host used in the experiments described here to the development of glial changes.