Laboratory data of 21 cases of subacute hepatitis were analysed as to their values for early diagnosis of this disease. As compared with typical acute hepatitis, the most characteristic findings of subacute hepatitis were i) reduction of thrombotest less than 50% of normal, ii) cholesterol ester level less than 80mg/dl, and iii) dissociation of bilirubin and transaminase.
These three data were indicative of severe hepatic necrosis and seemed to be the most reliable index for the early diagnosis of subacute hepatitis.
Beneficial effects of corticosteroids therapy in the early stage of the disease and prognostic value of serum α-festoprotein in subacute hepatitis were also discussed.

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Patients with hepatic encephalopathy treated by lactulose enema appeared a improvement of symptoms and blood ammonia level within a few hours in the almost cases.
Determination of pH in the digestive tract was performed with pH telemeter before and after the administration of lactulose to the patients with hepatic encephalopathy. The change of the pH in the upper and lower intestine was not significant after the administration of lactulose. A remarkable acidification was observed, on the contrary, in the colon at a pH below 5.0 to 3.2. No difference was found in the fecal bacteria between before and after a long term lactulose administration. The lowering of colonic pH was suspected to be intimately correlated to the decrease of the absorption of ammonia from the colon, and, therapeutic effect on the hepatic encephalopathy.

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Laparoscopic, light microscopic and electron microscopic examinations performed on 2 subjects with familial delay of ICG clearance (FDIC) revealed that although no remarkable change was observed macroscopically and light-microscopically, an increase of vesiculated endoplasmic reticulum, widening of inner space in nuclear envelope, tubular inclusions in giant mitochondria and an increase of lipofuscin granules were constant findings on electron micrographs. The pattern of binding of ³⁵S-ICG with serum proteins and the metabolism of I-131 BSP in 3 FDIC subjects were normal. However, an extremely slow rate of hepatic uptake of ICG (a_ICG) was characteristic.

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Choleretic effects of bucolome was investigated clinically. Investigated groups was consisted of three groups; (i) a group of four cases with chronic hepatitis & a case with liver cirrhosis, (ii) a group of five cases with cholecystopathy and (iii) a group of five volunteers. Bile was collected with duodenal tube. Choleretic effects of bucolome was evaluated on the items of bile volume, amount of excreted bilirubin and cholesterol in C-bile before and after intraduodenal loading of three hundred mg of bucolome with the duodenal tube. After bucolome loading, the bile volume increased in all cases, and the amounts of excreted bilirubin and cholesterol increased slightly in many cases.
Choleretic effects was compared among three groups, there was no significant difference between the group of volunteers and the group with liver diseases. The group of cholecystopathy showed significantly high values in the bile volume and the amount of excreted cholesterol than those of volunteers.

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For the purpose to elucidate immunopathogenetical role of hepatitis B surface (HBs) antigen in viral hepatitis, the localizations of HBs antigen, immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA, IgM, IgD, IgE) and complement components (C3, C4) in the liver tissue of an asymptomatic carrier with HBs antigenemia were studied by direct immunofluorescent technique. For detecting those immunoglobulins and complement components, a new fixation method was examined.
HBs antigen was observed along with the membrane of most hepatic cells, and within the cytoplasm of some cells, however portal triads were negative. IgG was observed in sinusoids, cavities of small blood vessels and the cytoplasm of a few mononuclear cells in portal triads. The localizations of IgM, IgA, C3 and C4 were closely approximated to those of IgG.
The localizations of the immunoglobulins, complement components and HBs antigenseemed to be not related to each other as immune-deposition.

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The patient was a 41-year-old man, complaining of abdominal pain. Since he was admitted to our hospital, his blood glucose level gradually diclined and he exhibited profound hypoglycemic attack. Subsequently the level of FFA decreased while the level of TG increased. Oral glucose tolerance test was performed and blood glucose concentrations increased gradually and then remained higher value for as long as 2 hours.
These results suggest that the patient might associate diabetes or cirrhosis. He died on the seventy-second hospital day. Histologically the tumor showed typical liver cell carcinoma and the glycogen content of the tumor was negligible. When hypoglycaemia developed, low serum level of insulin and high urinary level of catecholamine were observed.
Various studies were undertaken to assess the contribution of the liver, tumor, and endocrinic glands to the maintenance of the low blood glucose concentration.

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