Apparent hepatic dysfunction in lupus erythematosus.

Abstract

Abnormality of hepatic function has been described in a number of disorders that do not involve the liver primarily.* In rheumatoid arthritis,† subacute bacterial endocarditis,‡ sarcoidosis,§ convalescent malaria,∥ and other diseases characterized by increased serum levels of gamma globulin, this is manifested most prominently in the flocculation tests of liver function. Other tests considered to measure parenchymal hepatic function may show little deviation from the normal in patients with these diseases.8 There have been scattered references to the occurrence of abnormality of the thymol turbidity and cephalin flocculation in patients with disseminated lupus erythematosus.∥ A number of observers ¶ have reported that the gamma globulin fraction of the serum of patients with this disease is elevated. The present study of patients with lupus erythematosus is one of a series of studies of hepatic function in nonhepatic disease. Observations on other interesting and possibl related serological phenomena in lupus erythematosus