Abstract
Biliary lipids, faecal steroids, and serum bile acids were studied in patients with chronic active hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis. The results were correlated with excretory and parenchymal liver function tests and with the presence or absence of orcein-positive copper-protein complexes in histological liver specimens. In general, faecal bile acids, but not neutral and total sterols, correlated negatively with the percentage of biliary cholic acid, serum cholesterol, and serum bile acids and positively with the percentage of biliary deoxycholic acid. In orcein-positive subjects-indicative of long-standing cholestasis-the bile was undersaturated with cholesterol, biliary deoxycholic acid was subnormal, cholic acid correspondingly increased, and serum cholesterol and bile acids were raised. Only patients with marked impairment of both excretory and parenchymal liver functions had a decreased output of neutral sterols, bile acids, and total steroids, and, thus, low bile acid and cholesterol synthesis. The findings indicate that mild disturbances in parenchymal liver function infrequently cause major changes in cholesterol metabolism, while abnormalities in secretory liver function-in orcein-positive subjects especially-are frequently associated with proportionate changes in parameters of cholesterol metabolism.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.