Hepatic myelopathy Morphology of the thoracic and lumbar cord in liver cirrhosis and non-cirrhosis corpses and comparison of neuron functional protein

The current study demonstrated that injury of the spinal cord lateral funiculus occurs in liver cirrhosis. This study sought to compare the morphology of the thoracic and lumbar cord, the expression of functional proteins, and changes in vessels between liver cirrhosis and non-cirrhosis corpses. Results showed that in the liver cirrhosis group, the hepatic vein expanded, the gastrointestinal tract was full of coagulated blood, blood-stasis was easily seen in the veniplex of the vertebral canal and the lumbar spinal cord, and the cell bodies of the anterior horn in the thoracic and lumbar cord were smaller than those in non-cirrhosis corpses. In addition, nerve cells shrank, Nissl bodies were concentrated with obscured nuclei, and neurofilament and synapsin containing cell bodies of the anterior horn and white matter decreased in the liver cirrhosis group. These experimental findings indicate that abnormal circulation of the spinal cord, resulting from hemodynamic change of cirrhotic portal hypertension, may be the most significant cause of hepatic myelopathy.