Charcot-Leyden Crystals

Charcot-Leyden crystals (j. m. charcot, 1825-1893, French neurologist; e. v. leyden, 1832-1910, German neurologist; synonym Bizzocero-Neumann crystals) are specific crystals found in sputum, spinal cord fluids or in other biological fluids for certain diseases. They are needle-like structures composed of eosinophilic protein, and their presence indicates eosinophilic inflammation.

Charcot-Leyden crystals were first described in 1872 by French neurologist Jean Martin Charcot and German pathologist Ernst Victor von Leyden. They found them in the sputum and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with bronchial asthma. Later, crystals were found in other diseases accompanied by eosinophilic inflammation, for example, eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis.

The presence of Charcot-Leyden crystals is not pathognomonic of any specific disease, but does indicate a high level of eosinophils. Therefore, their detection is useful for the diagnosis and monitoring of conditions such as bronchial asthma, eosinophilic esophagitis, eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis and others.

Charcot-Ledenevsky (Shariki) crystals represent a giant complex of neuritis or peripheral nerve disorder. Despite the fact that these diseases are extremely long-lasting and painful, and manifest themselves extremely aggressively and variedly, accurately determining the cause is a real challenge. What are Charcot-Ledenev crystals?