FACTORS IN THE TREATMENT OF LAENNEC'S CIRRHOSIS. I. CLINICAL AND HISTOLOGICAL CHANGES OBSERVED DURING A CONTROL PERIOD OF BED-REST, ALCOHOL WITH-DRAWAL, AND A MINIMAL BASIC DIET 12

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Abstract
14 subjects with moderate to advanced Laennec''s cirrhosis were observed for a period of 3-7 weeks, during which they remained at bed-rest, abstained from alcohol, and were given a basic diet containing 1 g. of protein per kg., 100 g. of fat and enough carbohydrate to make a total intake of 30 calories per kg. No vitamin or lipotrope supplements were included. Clinical observations, serial liver function studies, and serial needle biopsies of the liver were carried out. Striking improvement in the clinical, functional and histological state of the liver was noted in almost all the subjects. The results observed did not warrant any conclusions regarding the relative efficacy of the basic regime described and of the dietary supplements of protein, vitamins and lipotropes usually employed in the treatment of cirrhosis, nor did they indicate what factors in the basic regime were responsible for the observed effects.