Oltmanns has recently re-investigated the phenomena in this plant, among others, and has shown that the nucleus of the cell which is being preyed upon recedes to the wall and gradually atrophies.
Thus, in the Phyllopoda, the antennal gland develops early and is functional during a great part of the larval life, but it ultimately atrophies, and in the adult (as in most Entomostraca) the maxillary gland is the functional excretory organ.
The foot arises as a prominence on the ventral surface and grows forward, and at the end of five or six days the velum atrophies and the foot becomes the organ of locomotion; the animal then ceases to swim and sinks to the bottom.
In advanced cases, the thenar muscle at the base of the thumb atrophies, and strength is lost.
The cerebellum atrophies early in the disease, being visibly smaller on MRI examination by seven or eight years of age.