Ultrastructural features of ethanol-induced cardiomyopathy in turkey poults.

Alcoholic cardiomyopathy, characterized by cardiac hypertrophy, was induced in young turkey poults with 5% ethanol. Ultrastructural features included accumulation of glycogen, swollen mitochondria, myofibrillar lysis, increased number of lysosomes, dilated sarcoplasmic reticulum and dense myofibers. Similarity of these alterations to those described in human alcoholic cardiomyopathy confirms the usefulness of the turkey poult as an animal model for this disease syndrome.