Summaries of the Iraqi Cases

The second infant, also female, was born at term to a 20-yr-old woman who had consumed MeHg-contaminated bread three to 

The clinical features of our two cases differ somewhat from those reported by Matsumoto et al. The mothers of both of our cases exhibited signs and S3miptoms of severe MeHg intoxication, and the infants, though seemingly nonnal at birth, died during early postnatal life. In the Japanese cases, on the other hand, the mothers were asymptomatic, and the infants, who lived for 6 yr, 3 months and 2 yr 6 months, respectively, suffered from severe cerebral palsy associated with repeated convulsive seizures. 

Histopathology. Microscopic alterations in the two brains were remarkably similar except for minor differences in the severity of involvement. The principal findings consisted of the presence of large numbers of heterotopic neurons in cerebral and cerebellar white matter and disturbances of cerebral and cerebellar cortical neuronal dignment and organization. 

Heterotopic neurons, which occurred both singly and in groups, exhibited varying degrees of differentiation. Many were large p30 amidal-shaped neurons (Fig. 2b), but groups of small, dark, rounded or elongated immature neurons were also noted, especially in the deep white matter (Fig. 2d). In the cerebrum scat- 

Groups of small immature neurons were noted in the subependjmial regions of the basal ganglia and thalamus as well as 

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