[So-called empty liver cell nuclei in hepato-cerebral dystrophy and other diseases]

The frequency of identification of "empty" nuclei of hepatocytes was investigated in 65 patients (25 patients with hepato-cerebral dystrophy, 18 patients with cirrhosis of the liver, 15 patients with chronic diseases of the extrapyramidal nervous system and other diseases) with the help of fluorescent and electron microscopy, cytophotometric determination of DNA, and on the basks of bioptic material (in 60 patients) and autopsy findings (in 5 cases). The so-called "empty" nuclei of hepatocytes are not specific for hepato-cerebral dystrophy, although in this disease they were observed in a greater number than in other diseases. Their dependence on the degree of portal hypertension and on some endocrine factors was noted. "Empty" nuclei were identified most often in the periportal regions and were characterized by a considerable increase in the volume, invaginations of the membrane, intranuclear inclusions, polyploidy. The study of polyploidy of the ordinary nuclei of hepatocytes in hepatocytes in hepato-cerebral dystrophy, bearing in mind the reduplicated DNA, revealed the predominance of diploid nuclei.