Disorders of biotransformation during the progression of alcoholic liver disease.

Biotransformation capacity was investigated in patients with various degrees of alcoholic liver damage. Aim of the investigation was to study the impairment of biotransformating ability during progression of liver damage. Four groups of patients with various liver diseases (alcoholic fatty liver, chronic persistent hepatitis, chronic active hepatitis, alcoholic cirrhosis) and two groups as controls were studied. The investigations were carried out with exogenous test substances (antipyrine, menthol and sulphadimidine) and by determination of D-glucaric acid excretion. It has been concluded that the depression of biotransformating ability in patients with alcoholic liver diseases is progressing during development of diseases. The changes in various metabolic pathways are different, and they seem to be more marked in the first phase of biotransformation than in the second phases.