Rotor's syndrome: a study on variations in pigment metabolism with age.

The effects of aging on the pigment metabolism in Rotor's syndrome were investigated in six cases examined at least twice at an average interval of 10.5 +/- 6.5 years and additional four cases examined only once. No significant increase was found in the total (TB) or direct (DB) bilirubin in serum. However, indirect bilirubin increased significantly from 1.21 +/- 0.72 mg/dl to 2.28 +/- 1.00 mg/dl (p less than 0.05) and DB/TB ratio (% Direct) decreased significantly from 77.3 +/- 6.6% to 64.4 +/- 8.7% (p less than 0.05). BSP retentions at 45 minutes increased significantly from 26.8 +/- 10.9% to 45.3 +/- 14.9% (p less than 0.05). A significant positive correlation between the values of BSP retained at 45 minutes and the age was also observed (p less than 0.01). These results suggest that the pigment metabolism in Rotor's syndrome deteriorates with the age.