Clinical and Experimental Studies on Renal Damage in Liver Disease-the Role of Endotoxin in the Mechanism of its Development

The present studies were were carried out to ascertain whether endotoxemia can be a possible cause of renal damage in various liver disease. 1) Clinical study : Endotoxin was measured by Limulus assay in peripheral blood from 106 patients with various liver disease. A positive test was obtained in 29 (27.4%). Incidence of endotoxemia was especially high in fulminant hepatitis （55.6%）, liver cirhosis (30.4%), and obstructive jaundice (32.0%). Endotoxemia correclated well with the level of serum total bilirubin and the presence of ascites. There was also a correlation between endotoxemia and serum NPN. Renal damage were more frequently associated with endotoxemia in patients with a relatively high serum total bilirubin level (more than 15 mg/dl) than in those with relatively low level (less than 5mg/dl).…