Urinary succinylacetone presence and delta-aminolaevulinic acid excretion in patients with type I tyrosinaemia during treatment.

In a group of 5 patients it was found that the presence of succinylacetone in urine as well as increased urinary excretion of delta-aminolaevulinic acid are a good criterion for the diagnosis of type I tyrosinaemia, and may serve for monitoring of the effectiveness of treatment with low-tyrosine diet. Determination of tyrosine levels in blood and urine by the semiquantitative method may be deceptive.

Value of bile acid determination for the diagnosis of neonatal jaundice.

Serum concentrations of bile acids and bilirubin, and activity of alanine transferase and alkaline phosphatase as well as bile acid and bilirubin levels in duodenal contents were determined in 90 infants aged 1-44 weeks (including 49 under 10 weeks of age) admitted to hospital for prolonged jaundice. Infants with extrahepatic cholestasis were found to have statistically higher serum bile acid and bilirubin concentrations. Oral administration of cholestyramine produced a statistically significant decrease in serum bile acids and bilirubin in infants with intrahepatic cholestasis under 10 weeks of age.