Plasma free fatty acid in liver disease.

The plasma free fatty acid level was raised in the majority of 131 patients with a variety of liver disorders, and included both those with severe liver cell damage and those with relatively good liver cell function and obstructive jaundice. This raised level is probably due to an increased mobilization of depot fat, for glucose, which inhibits peripheral liberation of free fatty acids, caused a fall in the plasma level and obliteration of the femoral venous-arterial difference in patients with liver disease comparable with that in normal persons. In addition, the plasma free fatty acid flux was measured using palmitate-1-C(14) and was found to be increased in patients with liver disease.