[Differential diagnosis of ethanol poisoning, alcohol withdrawal, and chronic alcoholic intoxication from the changes in neurons and macroglyocytes in the cerebral cortex].

The present paper reports results of a quantitative morphometric study of neuron and macroglyocyte populations in layers III and V of the brain somatosensory cortex in subjects with ethanol poisoning (EP), alcohol withdrawal (AW), and chronic alcoholic intoxication (CAI). The study was carried out during a more than 7-day period of abstinence in patients presenting with early manifestations of alcoholic illness. In subjects with ethanol poisoning, acute swelling of neurons in layer III was more pronounced than in layer V. Dynamic changes in the number of satellites near bodies of slightly affected neurons were recorded in layer III in patients with EP and AW as well as during the long-term break in intoxication. Layer V in EP, AW, and CAI exhibited phagocytosis of neurons, an elevated number of macroglyocytes and their enhanced proliferation along the course of blood vessels. The morphological changes of neurons and macroglyocytes under the above conditions can be categorized in terms of their degeneration rate from the beginning of the abstinence period into transient (disappearing within 7 days), persistent, and combined.