S S Lee, M Huang, Z Ma, O Rorstad – 1 May 1996 – Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) blood levels in cirrhosis are elevated, but its hemodynamic and receptor characteristics remain unclarified. We aimed to quantify VIP receptor characteristics in mesenteric arteries, plasma VIP concentration by radioimmunoassay (RIA), and the hemodynamic effects of VIP infusion in bile duct‐ligated (BDL) cirrhotic and sham‐operated control rats. Mesenteric arterial membranes were prepared by ultracentrifugation, and receptor characteristics were studied using 125I‐labeled VIP as a radioligand.

Yaron Ilan, Eitan Galuns, Arnon Nagler, Yaakov Baruch, Nelli Livni, Ran Tur‐Kaspa – 1 May 1996 – Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reinfection after liver transplantation is a major problem. HBV is mainly a hepatotrophic virus but replicates in many extrahepatic tissues. We present here two cases of infected patients who underwent liver transplantation. Both underwent bone marrow (BM) and liver biopsies after transplantation. Biopsy specimens were stained for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), and bone marrow aspirates and were separated for all subsets of cells.

Jurgen Ludwig, Etsuko Hashimoto, Michael K. Porayko, Terry M. Therneau – 1 May 1996 – Mayo Clinic pathology files from March 1985 to March 1995 contained records of 584 orthotopic liver transplantations in 515 patients. The most common indication for liver transplantation was primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), followed by primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), and cryptogenic cirrhosis. In 59 patients, a total of 69 single or repeated retransplantations became necessary.

1 May 1996

Y Romero, S F Phillips – 1 May 1996

P Van der Linden, O Le Moine, M Ghysels, M Ortinez, J Deviere – 1 May 1996 – The short‐ and mid‐term hemodynamic effects of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) were studied in 16 sedated cirrhotic patients. Indications included relapsing variceal bleeding (n = 10) and refractory ascites (n = 6).

N Van Rooijen, A Sanders – 1 May 1996 – Macrophages such as Kupffer cells in the liver are multifunctional cells. They are involved in host defense mechanisms and have a regulatory role in many biomedical processes. Their selective depletion, using liposome‐encapsulated drugs, forms a widely accepted approach to studying their functional aspects in vivo. We have compared the Kupffer cell‐depleting activities of liposome‐encapsulated clodronate, propamidine, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) for this purpose.

F Wong, P Liu, Y Allidina, L Blendis – 1 May 1996 – The status of the central blood volume in cirrhosis is controversial. A combination of sodium restriction and upright posture, which redistributes intravascular volume to dependent parts of the body should further aggravate a contracted central blood volume reduction. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of upright posture and sodium restriction on central blood volume (CBV) in preascitic cirrhotic patients, compared with controls.

N Ganne‐Carrie, C Chastang, F Chapel, C Munz, D Pateron, M Sibony, P Deny, J Trinchet, P Callard, C Guettier, M Beaugrand – 1 May 1996 – The aim of this study was to identify high‐risk patients for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Among 151 patients with histologically proven cirrhosis hospitalized from 1987 to 1990 and prospectively followed‐up until June 1994, 31 developed HCC. We assessed the predictive value of 22 variables recorded at enrollment for HCC occurrence by the log rank test and the Cox proportional hazards model.

M Tsutsumi, D Sakamuro, A Takada, S Zang, T Furukawa, N Taniguchi – 1 May 1996 – Many studies concerning γ‐glutamyl transpeptidase (GGTP) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have suggested that changes in hepatic GGTP expression may be closely related to the development of HCC. However, its mechanisms are not well known, and genomic analysis of the specific GGTP to HCC is also lacking. Recently, the human GGTP complementary DNA (cDNA) sequences from fetal liver, placenta, and HepG2 cells have been published.