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Total and functional hepatic blood flow decrease in parallel with ageing
M Zoli1, D Magalotti, G Bianchi
1Dipartimento di Medicina Interna, Cardioangiologia, Epatologia, University of Bologna, Policlinico S. Orsola, Italy.
Objectives:
To study changes in hepatic blood flow with age.
Design:
Functional hepatic flow (FHF) and total hepatic flow (THF) were determined by non-invasive methods in 40 normal subjects in four age groups (<45, 45-60, 61-75 and >75 years). All subjects had normal routine liver function tests and no history of liver disease.
Results:
THF was measured by pulsed echo-Doppler, as the sum of portal and hepatic artery blood flow; FHF was measured by the hepatic clearance of D-sorbitol. THF significantly decreased with age, particularly in subjects over 75 (from 1445+/-220 ml/min to 1020+/-148; P<0.001), and a similar reduction was observed in FHF (from 1514+/-250 ml/min to 1015+/-163; P<0.001). THF and FHF were strictly correlated in the whole population (r = 0.871; P<0.001) and both correlated with age (r = -0.510 and r = -0.596; P<0.005).
Conclusion:
With ageing there is a reduction of hepatic blood flow without any additional intrahepatic shunting.