USE OF METHIONINE AND VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS IN TREATMENT OF HEPATIC DISEASE

Abstract

THE CONCEPTS of the origin and therapy of hepatic disease have changed radically in recent years. The belief that cirrhosis is caused by toxic substances, most notably alcohol, is being replaced by the concept that the primary etiologic factor is probably a dietary deficiency or that multiple etiologic agents, acting through a mechanism which produces fatty infiltration of the liver, may be responsible. This concept is supported by the experimental production of cirrhosis in animals deprived of proteins, amino acids and vitamins. THE EXPERIMENTAL PRODUCTION AND PREVENTION OF HEPATIC DAMAGE AND CIRRHOSIS The relationship of diet to hepatic damage in laboratory animals has been known for some time. Curtis and Newburgh produced necrosis of the liver in rats by adding as little as 0.75 per cent cystine to a diet low in casein.¹The severity of the lesions was related to the amount of cystine used. Lillie in 1932