http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct/show/NCT00244569;jsessionid=659E1FE14BA8999CDD7E72D
F5F60052C?order=21

cactus jammies   (google Breath ID)

Interesting.  I hadn't heard of this.  Looks like it has been studied in
other countries but may not be approved.  Here are titles and  excerpts
from three pubmed.gov abstracts.  At first glance, it looks like they have
the patient swallow a carbon-labelled drug and wait a couple hours to see
how well it is metabolized in the liver, as measured by the amount of
metabolic product in the breath.  It would tell you how much functional
liver you have left.  Son of Breathalizer.

Kathy J.

13C-methacetin breath test shortened: 2-point-measurements after 15
minutes reliably indicate the presence of liver cirrhosis.  J Clin
Gastroenterol. 2007 Jan

"...The 13C-methacetin breath test (MBT) measures the activity of the
cytochrome P450 dependent enzyme system and has been developed to assess
the functional hepatic mass...CONCLUSIONS: The 13C-MBT using
2-point-measurement of breath samples at baseline and after 15 minutes
reliably indicates decreased liver function in liver cirrhosis. This
simplification of the 13C-MBT will increase practicability and cost
efficiency, thus facilitating its clinical acceptability...."

13C-methacetin breath test as liver function test in patients with chronic
hepatitis C virus infection.  Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2005 Jan

"...The non-invasive 13C-methacetin breath test reliably distinguishes
between early cirrhotic (Child A) and noncirrhotic patients, but fails to
detect early stages of fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C..."

13C-methacetin breath test in chronic hepatitis C liver disease.  Arq
Gastroenterol. 2006 Jan-Mar

"...The 13C-methacetin breath test is a non-invasive method to evaluate
hepatic microsomal function that allows a quantitative assessment of the
functional hepatic mass... "

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?itool=abstractplus&db=pubmed&cmd=R
etrieve&dopt=abstractplus&list_uids=17198062

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?itool=abstractplus&db=pubmed&cmd=R
etrieve&dopt=abstractplus&list_uids=15679768

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?itool=abstractplus&db=pubmed&cmd=R
etrieve&dopt=abstractplus&list_uids=16699617

yes, i read ifo about the breathid last week. but can it tell how much
scarring or and fibosis has occurred? Randy