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Serum 7α‐hydroxycholesterol as a new parameter of liver function in patients with chronic liver diseases
Author(s) -
Kuroki Syoji,
Okamoto Shuichiro,
Naito Tokio,
Oda Hitoshi,
Nagase Shoji,
Sakai Hironori,
Nawata Hajime,
Yamashita Hiroyuki,
Chijiiwa Kazuo,
Tanaka Masao
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.488
H-Index - 361
eISSN - 1527-3350
pISSN - 0270-9139
DOI - 10.1002/hep.1840220426
Subject(s) - medicine , cirrhosis , bile acid , gastroenterology , bilirubin , liver function tests , liver function , endocrinology , albumin , hepatology , serum albumin , hepatitis
To examine bile acid synthesis in chronic liver diseases, serum total 7α‐hydroxycholesterol level was measured by gas‐liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry in patients with cirrhosis (n = 23), patients with chronic hepatitis (n = 21), and control subjects (n = 18). The serum 7α‐hydroxycholesterol levels were significantly lower in patients with cirrhosis than the controls (78 ± 59 pmol/mL vs. 237 ± 97 pmol/mL; mean ± SD). However, in patients with chronic hepatitis, the level was fully retained (262 ± 102 pmol/mL). Serum 7α‐hydroxycholesterol levels of 17 patients with cirrhosis classified as Child B and C ranged from 33 to 69 pmol/mL, and all were less than the normal range (between 104 and 466 pmol/mL), however, those levels of some patients classified as Child A were within the normal range. Serum 7α‐hydroxycholesterol levels significantly correlated with serum albumin, cholinesterase, total bile acid, direct bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, indocyanine green (ICG) retention rate, hepaplastin test, and lecithin‐cholesterol acyltransferase activities. We conclude that bile acid synthesis is well preserved in patients with chronic hepatitis and that it is decreased in most patients with cirrhosis. Serum 7α‐hydroxycholesterol may be a new parameter of liver function testing to assess hepatic bile acid synthesis in patients with chronic liver diseases. (H EPATOLOGY 1995; 22:1182–1187.).