[Clinical evaluation of serum bile acids as a new liver function test (author's transl)]

In a randomized patient material, with various histologically verified hepatobiliary diseases, the serum levels of Cholyl glycine (CG) and Sulfolithocholyl glycine (SLCG) were compared with each other. SLCG levels are a more sensitive parameter and permit a more significant differentiation between fatty and normal livers and between cases with and without portal hypertension in liver cirrhosis. There were poor correlations between the hitherto routinely performed laboratory tests and the SLCG levels, but good correlations between SLCG and defined parenchymal liver diseases. the publication ends with the presentation of a newly developed SLCG-stimulation test, which provides a staging of parenchymal liver diseases without unnecessary requirements of time and material and with minimal stress to the patients.