CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF GLYCOGEN CONTENT OF LIVER

Abstract

The importance of the concentration of glycogen in the liver in patients suffering from a variety of clinical disturbances is generally acknowledged. In some instances glycogen impoverishment plays a greater role than in others, but in no case is a glycogen-poor liver without clinical significance, for there is no question that glycogen is one of the organism's greatest assets and that when impoverishment of this substance occurs a great liability results. It is thus obvious that a measure of the hepatic glycogen may be of real clinical significance. However, methods for quantitative measurement of glycogen in vivo still do not exist. The purpose of this paper is to present an indirect procedure for the quantitative estimation of hepatic glycogen "reserve" and to indicate the significance of data obtained by this method in various clinical states. There is ample evidence that a diminution of glycogen in the liver is probably the