Glycerol is metabolized predominantly in the liver, the first step presumably being phosphorylation to alpha-glycerophosphate. When ethanol is present in the blood the rate of glycerol uptake by the splanchnic organs is reduced to about one-third of the control value. At the same time glycerophosphate accumulates in the liver. Hepatic blood flow and oxygen consumption are not influenced by the combined infusion of glycerol and ethanol. The phenomenon may be connected with the increased concentration of the reduced form of diphosphopyridine nucleotide present in the liver during ethanol metabolism.

Ethanol↗

PubMed1965

A methodologic study of the bromsulfalein method for hepatic blood flow determinations.

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Blood Flow Velocity↗

PubMed1965

Determination of the hepatic blood flow in man by simultaneous use of five test substances measured in two parts of the liver.

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Blood Flow Velocity↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Prognostic factors in cirrhosis identified by Cox's regression model.

In a controlled clinical trial in 488 patients with chronic liver disease treated with prednisone or placebo, survival data were analyzed using Cox's proportional hazards model. A total of 162 variables were screened separately for prognostic and/or therapeutic effect by log-rank analyses, whereby 46 clinical, biochemical, serological, and histological variables were isolated. Another five variables traditionally found to be important in patients with liver disease were included. After extensively checking the assumptions of the model, the 51 variables were, by a step-wise procedure, reduced to a final model. It comprised, besides a treatment indicator, 12 variables with significant (p less than 0.05) prognostic or therapeutic effect. The following eight variables had a significant prognostic effect: sex, age, prothrombin, acetylcholinesterase, eosinophil leucocytes in liver parenchyma, liver cell necrosis, inflammation in liver connective tissue, and efferent veins in parenchymal nodules. A prognostic index based on the final model is formed allowing calculation of 5 years survival probability. The usefulness of the prognostic index was tested by a cross-validation method, and no statistical significant difference was found between the estimated and observed survivorship functions.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Conversion of micronodular cirrhosis into macronodular cirrhosis.

The conversion from micro- to macronodular cirrhosis is claimed to be a general phenomenon. In this study, the conversion was quantitated by means of liver needle follow-up biopsies and autopsy in 156 patients followed in a controlled clinical trial of prednisone treatment in cirrhosis. In the initial biopsy, 75 patients were classified as micronodular cirrhosis, and of them, 68 had macronodular cirrhosis at autopsy indicating a conversion ratio of about 0.9 in 10 years. This may overestimate the true conversion ratio slightly since conversion in many cases only was demonstrated at autopsy where the diagnosis of macronodular cirrhosis is made with greater certainty than from a needle biopsy. The median time interval between the diagnosis of micro- and macronodular cirrhosis was 2.25 years which is a maximum estimate of the conversion time due to irregular spacing between biopsies (or biopsy and autopsy). No significant difference was found between the conversion time in females and males. The conversion was faster in patients not drinking alcohol compared to patients drinking alcohol, but the difference was not significant. Prednisone treatment tended to accelerate the conversion, but not significantly.

Autopsy↗