Abstract

24 four-month-old female rats weighing approximately 250 grams were divided into two groups labeled A and B. Both groups were fed pellets and a 40% alcohol solution for 60 days, which caused a microvesicular hepatic steatosis. The livers of the animals in Group B were stimulated with 6 J/cm2 of infrared laser for 15 consecutive days. The rats were then sacrificed and samples of both steatosic liver and liver stimulated with infrared inductions were extracted for immediate processing via transmission electron microscopy. From both cell types transmission electron microphotographs were obtained at magnifications of 9500 X; these were subjected to morphometric studies to determine volumetric fractions of the following cell components: rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER), mitochondria, lipid and glycogen inclusions, euchromatin and heterochromatin. Likewise, cell and nuclear areas were quantified. Analysis of the results between steatosic and radiated hepatocytes revealed notable differences in all the cell components quantified. It is concluded that the effects of infrared stimulation with a dose of 6 J/cm2 brings about in the steatosic hepatocytes a microvesicular transformation in their ultrastructure and morphology, fundamentally in the considerable decrease in lipid infiltrations to 80%, which ultimately translates into a functional variation, thus representing an obvious impact produced by these infrared inductions.