BIOCHEMICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF EXPERIMENTAL CHRONIC ALCOHOLIC MYOPATHY

Experimental alcoholic myopathy was induced in 10 male Sprague Dawly rats by a combination of prolonged alcohol intake (mean 15.3 g ethanol/ Kg/day for up to 10 weeks) and a short fast. Histological and biochemical studies were combined to characterize the type of change in alcoholic myopathy. Therefore, muscles (tibialis anterior) were homogenized while cold in TED buffer and the supernatant after centrifugation was used to determine the activity of the glycolytic enzymes: aldolase, phospho glucomutase, phosphohexase isomerase and lactate dehydrogenase. Tibialis anterior muscules were histologically examined. The biochemical and morphological data were compared to a control group formed of 7 normal rats. There is significant panglycolytic enzymes decreased activi ties (P/0.05, P/0.001, P/0.001 and P/0.05 respectively) compared to controls. The predominant findings were degeneration, necrobiosis and atrophy which partly accounts for the depressed glycolytic enzyme
activity. The role of oxygen free radicals generated by alcohol in attac king the proteins and membranes can not be ignored.