Alpha fetoprotein in adult normals, bilharzial hepatic fibrosis and viral hepatitis in Egypt

ABSTRACT

Serum level of alpha fetoprotein [A.F.P.] was measured in 23 normal adult subjects, 33 patients with bilharzial hepatic fibrosis [BHF] and 10 patients with viral hepatitis. Using a rdaio-immunoassay procedure, A.F.P. could be detected in very small amounts [< 30 ng./ml.] in the sera of normal adult subjects. This indicates that the adult liver retains the capacity to synthesise this globulin which is normally present in the serum of developing fetus and pathologically in primary hepatic tumors. While fifty percent of the viral hepatitis cases showed increased serum levels of this protein [> 40 ng./ml] not a single case of bilharzial group showed a raised level. The increased serum levels of AFP in viral hepatitis are attributed to the presence of hepatic cells degeneration, necrosis and regeneration which is not the case with bilharzial hepatic fibrosis