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J Ribalta

Publications and source records attributed to J Ribalta.

47 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Steatorrhea in patients with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy.

A prospective study was undertaken to evaluate fat malabsorption during intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), a disease characterized by a mild cholestasis of short duration appearing in otherwise healthy young women. An abnormal fecal fat excretion (mean 15.8 g/24 h, range 6-31 g/24 h) was demonstrated in 10 of 12 patients with the icteric form of ICP and in 2 of 11 patients with pruritus gravidarum. The increased fecal fat excretion was generally asymptomatic, could be detected as early as 3 wk after the clinical onset of ICP, remained stable during the affected pregnancies, and returned to normal from 3 to 9 wk after delivery. Steatorrhea correlated with the severity of ICP, estimated by serum levels of bilirubin, total bile salts, and glutamic pyruvic transaminase. A significant fall in the maternal weight/height index was detected after the onset of ICP, being more intense in patients with steatorrhea than in those without it (to 92.6% +/- 3.0% of initial values versus 96.7% +/- 2.8%, respectively; p less than 0.05). A high risk of premature deliveries and fetal distress was demonstrated in these patients, also correlating with the severity of ICP. No direct relationship could be established between steatorrhea or maternal nutritional impairment and fetal prognosis.

Adolescent↗

Sulfobromophthalein clearance tests before and after ethinyl estradiol administration, in women and men with familial history of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy.

To test the hypothesis that intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy represent an abnormal reaction to estrogens in genetically predisposed individuals, the sulfobromophthalein disappearance curve from blood was compared before and after ethinyl estradiol administration (0.1 mg/day, during 6 days) in multiparous women with or without a past history of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, and in nulliparous women and men with or without a familial history of the disease. BSP concentration in blood, from 5 to 65 min after a single i.v. injection of the dye (5 mg/kg body wt), was fitted into biexponential curves using a computerized program. Ethinyl estradiol administration decreased the slope of the second component of the curve (k2) in most subjects and in both sexes. This effect was greater in multiparous women with a past history of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy than in their controls. An exaggerated response to ethinyl estradiol was more frequently found in nulliparous women, and in men, with a familial history of the disease than in those without it. These observations suggest the presence of a constitutional abnormality in the metabolic interactions between estrogens and the liver, independent from pregnancy itself. This abnormality could be genetically transmitted by individuals from either sex, determining a predisposition to develop intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy in their female descendants.

Adult↗

Prevalence of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy in Chile.

The prevalence of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy was studied immediately postpartum in 869 women from three distant Chilean cities differing in climate and food supply. Cholestatic jaundice of pregnancy was detected in 2.4% and pruritus gravidarum in 13.2%, without significant differences between the three cities. Every woman was then ethnically classified as predominantly Caucasoid, Araucanian Indian, or Aimara Indian. A significantly higher prevalence of cholestatic jaundice of pregnancy (5.5%) and pruritus gravidarum (22.1%) was found in Araucanians than in Caucasoids (2.5% and 12.6% respectively) or in the Aimaras (0 and 11.8% respectively). The prevalence of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy in Araucanians increased directly with the degree of "ethnic purity." Recurrence of the disease in multiparous women was also greater in Araucanians (13.8%) than in Caucasoids (5.5%) or in the Aimaras (3.9%). We propose that an ethnic predisposition to develop intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy is present in Araucanian women and that the high prevalence of the disease in Chile is mainly influenced by ethnic admixture with this South American Indian (ethnic) group.

Adult↗

Idiopathic cholestasis of pregnancy in a large kindred.

A past history of idiopathic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) was detected in 10 out of the 32 multiparous women in the last two generations of a large kindred. The affected women are distributed in five family units, sharing Chilean-born great-grandparents. The connection between the ICP-affected women and the common trunk is given both by male and female parents. Five cases are concentrated in one family unit, where the mother and all her daughters have been affected by the disease. The role of genetic factors in the pathogenesis of ICP is supported by this study. It is proposed that the disease may be transmitted as a predisposing trait by individuals of either sex and that non-genetic factors may influence its expressivity. A reliable test to identify all the genetic carriers seems indispensable to define the pattern of inheritance in this disease.

Adult↗