Ductopenia

Ductopenia refers to a reduction in the number of ducts in an organ. It is the histological hallmark of vanishing bile duct syndrome (typically <0.5 bile ducts per portal triad). The most common cause of ductopenia is primary biliary cholangitis.

Other causes of ductopenia include failing liver transplant, Hodgkin's lymphoma, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), sarcoid, cytomegalovirus infection, HIV and medication toxicity.

Idiopathic adulthood ductopenia (IAD) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease of unknown etiology characterized by adult onset, an absence of autoantibodies, inflammatory bowel disease, and a loss of interlobular bile ducts. In the present report, a case fulfilling the IAD criteria is described. A 19-year-old man was admitted to the hospital for persistent elevation of transaminases and alkaline phosphatase without clinical symptoms. Viral hepatitis markers and autoantibodies were absent. The patient had a normal extrahepatic biliary tree and had no evidence of inflammatory bowel disease. A liver biopsy specimen showed absence of interlobular bile ducts from 58% of the portal tracts. He was diagnosed with IAD and was treated with ursodeoxycholic acid.[1]


References
  1. Park, Byeong Chool; Park, Seon Mee; Choi, Eun Young; Chae, Hee Bok; Yoon, Se Jin; Sung, Rohyun; Lee, Sung Koo (2009). "A Case of Idiopathic Adulthood Ductopenia". The Korean Journal of Internal Medicine. 24 (3): 270–273. doi:10.3904/kjim.2009.24.3.270. PMC 2732788. PMID 19721865.


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