[Progress in the diagnosis of chronic liver disease: diagnostic activity in liver fibrosis and cirrhosis].
The incidence of chronic liver disease has increased due to more wide-spread alcoholism. Unfortunately practically no success has been achieved as yet in treating the final stage--decompensated cirrhosis of the liver. A decisive factor for progression of this disease is connective tissue formation, that is to say fibrosis in the liver. Up to now fibrosis of the liver can be diagnosed only by biopsy, but there is no method available to estimate the degree of its activity and progression, which would allow a more precise prognosis in the individual case. Some studies done in recent years on this problem of assessing the degree of activity of fibrosis of the liver are reviewed; these studies deal with enzymes and metabolites of collagen metabolism in the serum, glycoproteins and proteoglycans derived from the connective tissue matrix. According to various studies the best indicator of the degree of activity of liver fibrosis seems to be N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase and procollagen-peptide type III in the serum.
D000118:Acetylglucosaminidase / Q000097:blood; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003094:Collagen / Q000378:metabolism; D003238:Connective Tissue / Q000473:pathology; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000097:blood; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D008104:Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic / Q000175:diagnosis; D011347:Procollagen / Q000097:blood; D011509:Proteoglycans / Q000097:blood
D006023:Glycoproteins; D011347:Procollagen; D011509:Proteoglycans; D003094:Collagen; D000118:Acetylglucosaminidase
Diagnostische Fortschritte bei chronischen Leberkrankheiten: Aktivitätsdiagnostik der Leberfibrose und -zirrhose.