GFAP and Alpers syndrome: Analysis revealed a signifincantly increased surface area (μm2) of two-dimensional astrocytes from most patients with Alpers’ syndrome (P < 0.05), and half of patients demonstrated a significantly increased volume (μm3) of z-stacked GFAP + astrocytes compared to control occipital astrocytes (P < 0.0001) (Fig. 2).