Alcoholic Hepatitis Markedly Decreases the Capacity for Urea Synthesis.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aim

Data on quantitative metabolic liver functions in the life-threatening disease alcoholic hepatitis are scarce. Urea synthesis is an essential metabolic liver function that plays a key regulatory role in nitrogen homeostasis. The urea synthesis capacity decreases in patients with compromised liver function, whereas it increases in patients with inflammation. Alcoholic hepatitis involves both mechanisms, but how these opposite effects are balanced remains unclear. Our aim was to investigate how alcoholic hepatitis affects the capacity for urea synthesis. We related these findings to another measure of metabolic liver function, the galactose elimination capacity (GEC), as well as to clinical disease severity.

Methods

We included 20 patients with alcoholic hep

SUBMITTER: Glavind E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4933397 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature