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Show mm (Released by Western Newspaper Union.) NEW TEST FOR LIVER When we think of the work done by the hver most of us are likely to think of the manufacture of bile. The statement that life (and health) t ' "ft i depends upon the liver has behind it the thought of the value of bile in breaking up fats, in keeping the liver it-self it-self active and healthy and in the prevention of constipation. con-stipation. The fact also that the liver can store sugar and proteins Dr. Barton meat, eggs, fish , products for future use may also be in mind as we think about the hver and its work. However, one of the most important impor-tant jobs done by the liver is the filtering out from the blood substances sub-stances that would be harmful to the body, allowing only helpful products of the food to remain in the blood. The testing of the ability of the liver to filter out or remove substances sub-stances from the blood has been done for a number of years by injecting in-jecting a dye into the veins -or taking the dye by mouth and finding how long it takes the liver to remove all this dye from the blood. Ever since the dye method has been used there has been a controversy as to whether dye taken by mouth or dye injected into the veins, is the more accurate method. It is gratifying to know that a new test for liver function (ability) is reported from Cuba by Drs. A. Castellanos and J. Beato-Nunez, Havana, in the Bulletin of the Cuban Cu-ban Society of Pediatrics. The patient takes fruits or fruit juices instead of breakfast. A small quantity of blood is withdrawn. Then an injection of colloidal carotene is injected into the veins, the amount injected depending on the weight of the individual. Five minutes later lat-er blood is again withdrawn. The amount of total carotenoids in the blood is separately determined in the two different blood specimens. If the specimen of blood withdrawn five minutes after the carotene is taken is the same as the blood withdrawn before the carotene was taken, it shows that the liver is normal, doing its work properly. Any increase of the carotene in the blood five minutes min-utes after the injection into the veins of the carotene shows that the liver is not doing its work properly. These physicians found that this simple test is as reliable and better than the "classic" tests now in use. |