Hepatic copper in Indian childhood cirrhosis.

Forty-three liver biopsies histologically diagnosed as Indian childhood cirrhosis were studied with the object of investigating accumulation of copper and copper-associated protein in the hepatocytes as demonstrated by the rhodanine and orcein stains respectively. The findings reveal that, in almost all cases, there was an increased accumulation of copper and copper-associated protein, accompanied by the presence of numerous Mallory bodies. It is postulated that the accumulation of copper in the hepatocytes might be the result of a metabolic defect and might be aetiologically related to the liver cell injury and the subsequent development of Indian childhood cirrhosis.