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Amelioration of the symptoms of tropical sprue, particularly the anemia and gastro-intestinal disturbances, has followed the oral and parenteral administration of liver or liver extracts (1,2,3,4). It has been claimed that similar treatment is effective in the treatment of idiopathic steatorrhea (non-tropical sprue) (5). Barker and Rhoads (6), in a study of the blood lipids in sprue, came to the conclusion that liver extract must exert some specific effect on intestinal absorption. The plasma lipids of the treated cases increased after a meal containing fat, while those patients, who received only a sprue diet, failed to show a similar increase during the test. Ross (7), on the other hand, in an investigation of celiac disease (a condition perhaps identical with idiopathic steatorrhea) was unable to demonstrate any effect on the absorption of carbohydrate after injections of liver extract (campolon). He believed that this form of treatment improved the utilization of intravenous glucose.Whether identical metabolic defects exist in these three diseases is still an open question. It, therefore, seems pertinent to describe the results of balance studies of patients undergoing treatment with liver extract, who have never resided in the tropics and yet have presented the syndrome of sprue. The term idiopathic steatorrhea as used in this connection has been considered synonymous with non-tropical sprue.

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