Histological demonstration and frequency of intrahepatocytic copper in patients suffering from alcoholic liver disease.

This study was carried out to determine whether stainable copper accumulates in the hepatocytes of patients with alcoholic liver disease. Liver sections from 44 cases of alcoholic cirrhosis and 32 cases of non-cirrhotic alcoholic liver disease were stained by the rubeanic acid, rhodanine and orcein methods. Intrahepatocytic copper granules were found in 13 cases of cirrhosis (30%), but in none of the non-cirrhotic livers. The abundance of granules did not appear to be related either to the activity of the cirrhotic process or to the presence of cholestasis. It may well be that alcoholic cirrhosis is the most common disease associated with excess of intrahepatocytic copper.