The content of glycogen and its fractions in human hepatocytes in traumatic disease

: A cytofluorometric study was made of the total glycogen and its of fractions in liver cells of patients with hard mechanic trauma with or without intoxication. For studying glycogen dynamics in the course of traumatic illness, the aspiration biopsy material was obtained (30 patients) using repeated liver biopsy of one and the same patient. The total glycogen was found to change insignificantly in liver cells of patients with traumatic illness, both under favourable conditions and with intoxication, and at the normal level. The labile glycogen fraction in liver cells of patients with traumatic illness without intoxication is contained almost at the normal level (80-95%) of the total glycogen and is not changed for a long time. At that time the relative content of the labile glycogen fraction decreases appreciably in some cases to 45-50% due to intoxication development. A relative content of the labile glycogen fraction in hepatocytes with hard mechanical intoxication correlates well with the degree of intoxication. This makes hepatocyte glycogen microfluorometry a diagnostic tool in measuring the functional state of liver in the course of intoxication.