“…Estrogens have been shown to have a salt-retaining action in animals (11), and there is much evidence to show that in animals these hormones are normally inactivated by the liver (12). Moreover, in human liver disease there are certain clinical features which are best explained on the basis of increased estrogen activity (13)(14)(15). These observations suggest that decreased inactivation of endogenous estrogen may occur in human liver disease, which may lead in turn to sodium-retention.…”