Clinical and Pathologic Studies on Latent Liver Diseases in Tomie Town, Goto Island, Nagasaki Prefecture

Abstract

The mortality of hepatoma and liver cirrhosis has been known highest in Nagasaki prefecture throughout the country. In an attempt to investigate the pathogenesis of these diseases, we began to examine peoples aged beyond 30 years residing in Tomie town, Goto Island, where the mortality is higher than any other places in Nagasaki prefecture. Among 917 patients who has no complaint on selected for study at random, 180 patients (19.6%) had enlarged liver and 200 patients (21.8%) showed abnormal liver function tests. Patients with these abnormalities tended to be found among the peoples residing in fishing villages compared with those in farm villages in this town. The liver biopsy study was done in 80 of them, and demonstrated 6 patients with cirrhosis, 10 chronic hepatitis, 40 hepatic fibrosis, 6 fatty liver, 6 cholangitis, 5 nonspecific reactive hepatitis, and 7 miscelleneous liver disorders. Fibrosis was unvailed by the biopsy study even in patients whose livers were enlarged with minimum changes of function tests. In terms of histological findings, patients with fibrosis consist of 14 with viral hepatitis, 5 with alcholic and 21 with undetermined cause. Higher than normal values of plasma tyrosine, phenylalanine and methionine were found even in subclinical cases including hepatic fibrosis.