Yun‐Fan Liaw – 1 October 1995 – Hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and hepatitis delta virus (HDV) share same transmission routes, thus dual or triple infection may occur and even persist in the same patients. A significant amount of literature has accumulated since the advent of HCV assays. It is pertinent to review and evaluate the clinical and virological significance of HCV in multiple hepatotropic viral infection. The reported series on seroprevalence of HCV indicate that HCV is found in more than 10% of HBV‐ or HDV‐infected patients worldwide.

Luigi Fiume, Giuseppina Di Stefano, Corrado Busi, Alessandro Mattioli, Maria Rapicetta, Roberto Giuseppetti, Anna Rita Ciccaglione, Claudio Argentini – 1 October 1995 – We prepared a hepatotropic conjugate, suitable for intramuscular (IM) injection, of lactosaminated poly‐Llysine with adenine arabinoside monophosphate (ara‐AMP), a drug active against hepatitis B virus (HBV). We studied its organ distribution in mice and its antiviral activity in woodchucks that are carriers of woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV).

Kazuo Iwata, Takaji Wakita, Akihiko Okumura, Kentaro Yoshioka, Masahiro Takayanagi, Jack R. Wands, Shinichi Kakumu – 1 October 1995 – Evidence suggests that cellular immunity to hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein may be important in the pathogenesis of viral infection. Therefore, interferon gamma (IFN‐γ) production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) derived from patients with chronic HCV infection (genotype 1b) was examined. The cellular immune response was evaluated with a recombinant HCV core fusion protein derived from a patient with genotype 1b.

William G. H. Abbott, Arie Geursen, John D. Fraser, John Marbrook, Margot A. Skinner, Paul L. J. Tan – 1 October 1995 – We used an anchor polymerase chain reaction method to compare the repertoires of transcribed T‐cell receptor β chain variable region (Vβ) genes in cord blood T cells from neonates of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive (n = 40) and HBsAg negative (n = 40) women. Fifteen of the HBsAg positive women were hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) positive, and 25 were HBeAg negative.

Katherine M. Detre, Manuel Lombardero, Steven Belle, Kimberly Beringer, Timothy Breen, O. Patrick Daily, Nancy L. Ascher – 1 September 1995 – The waiting list for liver transplantation has more than doubled between 1988 and 1992, yet the number of liver transplantations during the same period increased by only 79%. This discrepancy is due to the limited availability of donors. The modest increase in donor pool is caused entirely by donors ≥ 40 years of age, a trend likely to continue.

Dora Ninova, Ruud A. F. Krom, Russell H. Wiesner – 1 September 1995 – Intercellular adhesion molecule‐1 (ICAM‐1) is an adhesion molecule from the immunoglobulin super family that is recognized to be an important factor in the multistep process of cell transendothelial migration and lymphocyte adhesion during antigen recognition and effector cytolysis, mechanisms known to be involved in the pathogenesis of hepatic allograft rejection. A soluble form of ICAM‐1 (sICAM‐1) can be shed into the circulation.

Peter R. Flanagan, Attila Hajdu, Paul C. Adams – 1 September 1995 – Iron‐responsive element‐binding protein (IRE‐BP) activity was studied in liver and intestinal samples of hemochromatosis and control patients using a short 32P‐IRE‐RNA probe on “retardation” nondenaturing polyacrylamide gels. IRE‐BP activity was assessed in liver biopsy specimens in 36 patients—16 hemochromatosis homozygotes, 4 hemochromatosis heterozygotes, 6 patients with secondary iron overload, and 10 control patients with normal hepatic iron concentrations.

Carlo Merkel, Angelo Gatta, Carlo Donada, Edda Enzo, Renato Marin, Piero Amodio, Pierluigi Torboli, Paolo Angeli, Giorgio Cavallarin, Giuliana Sebastianelli, Sara Susanna, Cesare Mazzaro, Pietro Beltrame, The GTIP – 1 September 1995 – The association beta‐blockers plus nitrates has been reported to impair renal function and renal sodium handling, leading to increased risk of development of ascites, or worsening of a preexisting ascites, or increase in the requirements of diuretic agents.

James Neuberger, Lorraine Wallace, Ruth Joplin, Stefan Hubscher – 1 September 1995 – We have examined the distribution of the E2 component of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex in the liver of patients with native primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), and after transplantation, using affinity‐purified anti‐E2 antibodies. In the posttransplantation group, we studied biopsy specimens from patients grafted for conditions other than PBC (n = 6) and those grafted for PBC with (n = 6) and without (n = 5) histological features suggestive of PBC recurrence.

Liliana Chemello, Paola Bonetti, Luisa Cavalletto, Fabiola Talato, Valter Donadon, Pietro Casarin, Fabio Belussi, Mario Frezza, Franco Noventa, Patrizia Pontisso, Luisa Benvegnù, Carla Casarin, Alfredo Alberti, The TriVeneto Viral Hepatitis Group – 1 September 1995 – Alpha‐interferon (IFN‐α) is an effective treatment for chronic hepatitis C, but only 20% to 30% of patients are apparently cured with the currently recommended schedule of 3 MU given three times a week for 6 months.