Ursodeoxycholic acid, a dihydroxyl bile acid normally present in human beings in minimal amounts, becomes incorporated into the bile salt pool when taken orally. In cholestasis, bile acids are retained in the liver and are hepatotoxic. Ursodeoxycholic acid is the least-known hepatotoxic bile acid, has choleretic properties and is reported to benefit patients with chronic cholestasis. In a nationwide Canadian controlled trial, 222 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis were treated with ursodeoxycholic acid (14 mg/kg/body wt/day) or placebo for 24 mo. Only patients with a diagnosis confirmed by liver biopsy and serum positive for antimitochondrial antibodies were enrolled; 88% were symptomatic on entry. The primary outcome measure was percent change in total serum bilirubin from baseline to final follow-up. Treated patients (111) and controls (111) were comparable with regard to age, gender, biochemical parameters and liver histological condition. Although treatment was not associated with any improvement in symptoms, ursodeoxycholic acid therapy caused the bilirubin to fall significantly within the first 3 mo of therapy (p < 0.001). Significant falls in serum alkaline phosphatase, aminotransferases, cholesterol and IgM levels were also noted in the treated group. Improvement in some histological features was observed but there was no difference between the groups in the number of patients who reached the endpoints of death or liver transplantation. Ursodeoxycholic acid, given to patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, leads to an improvement in serum markers of cholestasis. A larger sample size is needed to determine whether ursodeoxycholic acid therapy has a beneficial effect on the survival of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis.

This study reports on a

We investigated symptoms suggestive of swallowing problems in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, some of whom displayed features of sicca complex. A prospective study of 95 consecutive patients with primary biliary cirrhosis was conducted at a single teaching hospital using a questionnaire administered over the telephone. Some symptoms of sicca complex (dry mouth and/or dry eyes) were found in 65 patients (68.4%). Subjective xerostomia alone was present in 45 patients (47.4%). The questionnaire revealed an increase in incidence of dysphagia in xerostomia subjects, affecting 21 of 45 patients, compared with 6 of 50 non-xerostomia patients. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that confounding factors such as age, obesity, cigarette smoking, and medications associated with a dry mouth could not explain these findings. Twenty-eight patients complained of hoarseness, 23 of coughing, and 14 of wheezing, all of which were significantly more frequent than in the 50 patients without xerostomia. Heartburn affected 17 xerostomia patients and 15 non-xerostomia patients, indicating no difference in frequency between these two groups, even after age, obesity, cigarette smoking, and medications associated with heartburn were considered in the multivariate analysis. Acid regurgitation, nausea, and vomiting were also similar in frequency between patients with and without xerostomia. Swallowing problems, manifested primarily as dysphagia, are common in primary biliary cirrhosis patients who have subjective xerostomia.

Corticosteroid therapy for acute alcoholic hepatitis has been demonstrated to enhance survival in patients who are encephalopathic, and who do not have renal failure or gastrointestinal bleeding. However, the complications of steroid therapy in such patients have been less well documented. The authors report two patients with alcoholic liver disease who developed life-threatening infections after steroid therapy was started. The first patient initially developed diabetes followed by Fournier's gangrene of the perineum, and a lung abscess following septic emboli. The second patient had established alcoholic cirrhosis rather than alcoholic hepatitis. She developed a necrotic ulcer on the arm at the site of an intravenous line, which was infected with a rhizopus species. Despite surgical debridement the lesion progressed and contributed to her death. Treatment of alcoholic hepatitis with steroids is not innocuous, and physicians should be aware of the potential for life-threatening complications.