Significance of serum lipoproteid-X (LP-X) determination for the diagnosis of cholestasis in chronic liver diseases.

Among 179 patients with various chronic diseases of the liver the authors found in 20 cases histological evidence of intrahepatic cholestasis and in all these cases lipoproteid X (LP-X) was present in the serum. In the group of 159 patients without evidence of cholestasis in microscopic examination of liver tissue LP-X was demonstrated only in two cases (1.3%). The results of investigations confirm the view that detection of LP-X in the serum is a specific and sensitive index of cholestasis and its value in the diagnosis of this condition is greater than that of determinations of alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl-transpeptidase, leucinamino-peptidase activity or cholesterol in the serum.