[Autoantibodies to liver membrane in children with chronic active hepatitis (author's transl)]

Liver-membrane auto-antibodies (LMA) were searched for in children with histologically proven chronic active hepatitis. LMA were found in the serum of all 20 patients under study. In the 6 cases associated with hepatitis B virus, LMA were the sole marker for auto-immunity; in 11 cases, negative for HBsAg, other anti-tissue antibodies, smooth muscle or endoplasmic reticulum antibody, coexisted. Neither prior to therapy nor during treatment with prednisone and azathioprine was there any correlation between titres of LMA and those of other auto-antibodies nor with the assessment of histological activity. Although a reliable diagnostic marker, LMA, as revealed by using heterologous hepatocytes, appear to convey limited values as a prognostic marker of chronic active hepatitis in children.