Abstract
Hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) of the liver is a common complication following high-dose cytotoxic therapy for bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Liver injury is believed to occur following free radical damage to endothelial cells of the sinusoids and small hepatic veins. Glutathione the main antioxidant of the cytosol becomes depleted following chemotherapy. Animal studies have shown that glutamine infusions can maintain glutathione levels and protect against free radical injury. We present two cases of established VOD successfully treated with intravenous glutamine (as dipeptide) and oral vitamin E. Although both cases have possible confounding factors we believe that these give support to the notion that glutamine/vitamin E may have a role in the prophylaxis and treatment of VOD. Further formal trials are indicated.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Goringe, A., Brown, S., O’Callaghan, U. et al. Glutamine and vitamin E in the treatment of hepatic veno-occlusive disease following high-dose chemotherapy. Bone Marrow Transplant 21, 829–832 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1701172
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1701172
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Rust and corrosion in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: the problem of iron and oxidative stress
Bone Marrow Transplantation (2004)
-
Intensive enteral nutrition support in paediatric bone marrow transplantation
Bone Marrow Transplantation (2001)
-
Avoiding hepatic veno-occlusive disease: what do we know and where are we going?
Bone Marrow Transplantation (2001)