[Astrocytic response in alcoholic cirrhotic encephalopathy (immunohistochemical study)]

In human alcoholic cirrhotic encephalopathy, most of astrocytes of the cerebral cortex appear as Alzheimer type II cells. Thus, they cannot be visualized by the immunocytochemical detection of Glial Fibrillary Acidic protein (GFAP). However, fibrous astrocytes present in layer I of the cortex and in the vicinity of the white matter are GFAP positive. This special reactivity of layer I astrocytes could correspond to the persistance of the characters of primitive neuropil.