[Diagnostic value of bile acids for determining the activity of chronic hepatitis]

Examinations of 39 patients with histologically ascertained chronic active hepatitis showed that from the behaviour of the bile acids in the C-bile may be concluded to the degree of severity and size of the inflammatory activity of the chronic liver disease. The total unconjugated bile acids were reduced in dependence upon the degree of the biochemical and/or histological activity of chronic hepatitis. The concentrations of the total bile acids decreased the more, the more distinct was the inflammatory activity. The increase of the biochemical and/or histological activity was characterized also by a reduction of the ratio trihydroxy-/dihydroxy-bile acids. From the alteration of the ratio causal relationships between the activity of the chronic hepatitis and the predominance of the chenodesoxycholic acid could be derived. This disease-specific behaviour of the bile acids which had diagnostic value for the demarcation of the stage of the disease of chronic hepatitis was statistically ascertained by the correlation calculation and the factor analysis.