Sadato Fujii

Prevalence of chronic liver diseases and anti-HCV antibodies in different districts of Saga, Japan

SummaryThe authors examined the contribution of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) to the morbidity of chronic liver diseases (CLD) in selected districts of Saga, Japan, one group with low (L) and the other with a high (H) mortality rate of CLD. Age and sex-matched epidemiological studies showed an extremely high morbidity of CLD in the H-districts (5.3%) and a low one in the L-districts (2.1%). Randomized selected studies of anti-HCV antibodies showed an extremely high frequency of 10.8% in the H-district and a frequency of 4.6% in the L-district. In addition, the number of subjects with both CLD and positive anti-HCV antibodies was significantly higher in subjects older than the fifth decade, in the H-district. The high prevalence of HCV may be related to the high morbidity and mortality rate of CLD in these districts of Japan.

Effects of oral and intravenous fat administration on the levels of apoproteins A-I, A-II AND C-III in human subjects

Changes of plasma levels of apoproteins A-I, A-II and C-III were determined after oral and intravenous fat administration. The A-I levels increased in three out of four subjects after fat ingestion but no changes or even a slight decrease in the levels of A-I were observed after intravenous fat infusion. The A-II levels also increased after fat ingestion in two subjects but the levels either did not change or decreased slightly after fat infusion. The levels of C-III increased concomitantly with the increase of triglyceride levels after fat ingestion as well as fat infusion . After intravenous fat infusion, part of the C-III in the d greater 1.006 fraction shifted to the lighter fraction (d less than 1.006). These observations suggest that the increase in the levels of A-I and A-II after fat ingestion are a consequence of an increase in apoprotein synthesis in the intestine during fat absorption. The increase in the levels of C-III after fat ingestion as well as fat infusion seemed to be related to the capture of C-III inthe triglyceride rich particles, i.e. C-III accumulated in the circulation with triglyceride-rich particles. However, it appeared also to be possible that the rate of C-III synthesis increases during hyperlipidemia induced by fat infusion.