Abstract
The turnover of radioiodine‐labelled homologous IgM was studied on 16 occasions in 15 patients with chronic liver disease (e.g. cryptogenetic cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis, alcoholic cirrhosis). Nine were untreated, 5 received prednisone, and 2 azathioprine at the time of investigation. Serum IgM varied from 0.55 to 4.02 g per 1. Four patients had normal IgM turnover. In 6 studies the serum IgM concentration was elevated owing to an increased synthesis rate; however, in 5 of them the fractional catabolic rate, too, was accelerated. In 3 studies a normal serum concentration was combined with a high normal synthesis rate and increased degradation rate. One patient who was reinvestigated after 11 months of azathioprine treatment showed a decrease in serum IgM due to lowered synthesis. The IgM turnover pattern was not correlatable0 to the type of cirrhosis or to the treatment.
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