Abstract
In order to clarify the roles of copper and zinc in a progress of chronic liver diseases, levels of copper and zinc in both sera and liver tissues were measured. As a result, serum concentration of zinc decreased significantly, in accordance with an agravation of liver disease, while serum and hepatic levels of copper increased. The ratio of serum copper to zinc elevated significantly in parallel with a progress of liver disease. Patients with the ratio exceeding 2.0 generally suffered from cirrhosis or chronic active hepatitis. This ratio coincided with changes of liver function test which reflected liver fibrosis and residual liver function.
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© 1990 Springer-Verlag Tokyo
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Sawa, A., Okita, K. (1990). The Role of Copper and Zinc as Pathogenic Factors in Liver Disease. In: Tomita, H. (eds) Trace Elements in Clinical Medicine. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-68120-5_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-68120-5_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Tokyo
Print ISBN: 978-4-431-68122-9
Online ISBN: 978-4-431-68120-5
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