Cirrhosis Associated with Partial Deficiency of Alpha-1 Antitrypsin in an Adult

  1. JOSE L. CAMPRA, M.D.;
  2. JOHN R. CRAIG, M.D., Ph.D.;
  3. ROBERT L. PETERS, M.D.; and
  4. TELFER B. REYNOLDS, M.D., F.A.C.P.
  1. Los Angeles, California

    Abstract

    A 63-year-old woman developed ascites that led to a diagnosis of cryptogenic cirrhosis. Eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions were found in hepatocytes on examination of liver biopsy specimens and were shown by immunofluorescent staining to be deposits of alpha-1 antitrypsin. She had a partial deficiency of serum alpha-1 antitrypsin, with a SZ phenotype for the Pi (protease inhibitor) system. Severe, homozygous alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency is known to be associated with juvenile cirrhosis; we propose that a partial deficiency may be related to liver disease in adults.

    Article and Author Information

    • ▸From the Departments of Medicine and Pathology, University of Southern California School of Medicine, and the John Wesley County Hospital, Los Angeles, Calif.

    • ▸Reprints not available.

      • Received August 21, 1972.
      • Accepted November 14, 1972.
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    1. Ann Intern Med February 1, 1973 vol. 78 no. 2 233-238
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