Anti-mitochondrial antibodies in primary biliary cirrhosis

The differential diagnosis in patients with prolonged jaundice of 'obstructive' type may be difficult despite the aids afforded by liver-function tests, biopsy and therapeutic steroid trial. Cholestatic forms of drug jaundice and viral hepatitis can usually be diagnosed clinically. Primary Biliary Cirrhosis, the chronic idiopathic obstructive jaundice occurring chiefly in middle-aged women (Hanot 1876, Ahrens et al. 1950 and Sherlock 1959) may be extremely difficult to differentiate from obstruction to main bileducts which requires surgical relief. In the present study serological tests have been used to distinguish between these two conditions.