New information on the pathologic effects of
a choline deficient diet in the rat, in relation to the
biochernical events, has led to a new understanding and
orientation of the pathogenesis of both acute and chronic
consequences in the liver. The biochemical pathology of
choline deficiency is quite different than that of methyl
group (lipotrope) deficiency. These studies in our
laboratory and elsewhere are generating new insights
and hypotheses concerning the genesis of hepatocyte
necrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in the rat fed a
choline deficient diet