The effects of diet and choline on fatty infiltration of the human liver

Since Patek's original paper in 1937 , the place of dietary therapy in cirrhosis of the liver has been established2o and it has been demonstrated that cirrhosis of the liver may be induced in animals by appropriate dietary regimens61o• In the course of these investigations the place of the fatty liver in the development of cirrhosis has received considerable attention. Interest has centered around certain lipotropic substances, notably choline, it having been shown in animals that this substance exerts strong lipotropic effects on the liver and prevents the occurrence of one type of dietary cirrhosis9 , 10, n. Based upon these findings, choline has been employed in the therapy of the human diseaseI218• The present report is an attempt at the evaluation of the effect of supplementary choline in the diet upon fatty infiltration of the liver in man.