[Myofibrils and autophagic vacuoles during atherosclerotic ischemia in man]

The various cases of ultrastructural changed in human skeletal muscles in an ischemic state have been examined. From the examination of the material used, it results that in these muscles, certain myelinic figures and autophagic vacuoles are present. These figures are at times linear and in order, whereas in other regions the lamellar components reveal to be disorganized. In many cases, the larger myelinic figure is near the nucleus, almost next to it. Even electron-dense membranes that surround crystalline inclusion placed between the myelinic figures have been observed. The presence of autophagic vacuoles and myelinic figures is important. The cause of this presence is probably due to a different state of degeneration of the different regions in which these vacuoles are or are not present. Both the autophagic vacuoles and the myelinic figures are found associated with the proteolysis of the tissues. Because of these observations, it has been hypothesized that these changes are a consequence of degeneration. Nonetheless, these changes could be caused by both ischemia and atrophy caused by denervation contemporarily, when the above happens in subjects forced to a long-term immobile state, or in an advanced state of gangrene, or during contemporary and associate phlogistic processes with deficient peripheral nervous structures.