Serum Neopterin Assay to Interpret the Main Cause of Chronic Liver Damage Involved with Plural Etiological Factors

Abstract

Summary Identification of the main cause of chronic liver damage (CLD) involved with plural etiological factors is important for the management and the treatment of patients. To evaluate its clinical usefulness in interpreting the main cause of CLD involved with hepatitis C virus, alcoholic overdrinking, or fatty steatosis, which are the most frequent and troublesome etiological facotors in the daily outclinic, serum neopterin level was measured in ten healthy subjects, ten chronic hepatitis C (CH-C) patients, nine alcohol-induced liver damge (AL) patients, eight non-alcholic fatty liver (FL) patients, eight CH-C with AL padtients, seven CH-C with FL patients and ten non-B non-C chronic hepatitis (CH-NBNC) patients by using radioimmunoaasay. There were no significant difierences in the mean serum neopterin levels among the healthy subjects, the AL patients and the FL patients. The serum neopterin level in the CH-C with AL or FL patients was significantly higher than that in the AL or the FL patients and just as high as that in the CH-C patients. Furthermore, serum neopterin level in CH-NBNC patients was as high as that in the patients with CH-C. Therefore, the serum neopterin assay can easily assume the main cause of CLD involved with plural causes, so it will be very useful in the daily clinical practice as an easyto- use auxiliary test.