Significance of serum aminograms in diagnosis and prognosis of liver diseases.

The diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of various liver diseases are still frequently equivocal despite the various liver function tests and invasive procedures presently available to the clinician. The introduction of the Beckman Amino Acid Analyzer Model 119 Cl, greatly facilitated the determination of the individual amino acids in serum and cerebrospinal fluid, and the data thus obtained seem to help in the differentiation of some of the commoner types of liver disease. These data indicate that changes in the concentration of some of the aromatic amino acids (AAA) and branched chain amino acids (BCAA) are helpful in the diagnosis, evaluation of the severity of the hepatic morphologic changes, and prognosis of the type of liver disease.

Hypertrophic osteoarthropathy with myogenic tumors of the esophagus.

A patient who, eight years prior, had a Heller operation for achalasia developed hypertrophic osteoarthropathy possibly secondary to a leiomyoma of the esophagus with sarcomatous changes. No local invasion or metastases were found. Total esophagectomy completely cured the esophageal symptoms and relieved the swelling and pain of her knees and other joints.