[Early histologic diagnosis of acute myocardial infarct by autofluorescence. Evaluation in humans and experimental animals].

The value of an autofluorescence method for the early diagnosis of myocardial infarction was evaluated in humans and experimental animals. The hearts from 15 rats and 18 dogs that had undergone coronary occlusion, and those obtained from 29 human autopsy cases with clinical evidence of myocardial infarction were studied. Routine and frozen sections stained and unstained were observed under fluorescence microscopy. In all the cases, ischemic areas exhibited fibres with a bright yellow autofluorescence. There was some variations in fluorescence intensity from routine stained and unstained to frozen stained and unstained sections. These results demonstrate that the fluorescence method can be used to defect early myocardial ischemic injury. The intracellular alterations induced by ischemia could be responsible for light absorption and thus characteristic autofluorescence.