Ulus S. Akarca, Anna S. F. Lok – 1 July 1995 – Mutations in the hepatitis B virus (HBV) core gene may influence disease activity by altering immune recognition sites or level of virus replication. Sera from 69 Chinese patients with chronic HBV infection were analyzed by direct sequencing of polymerase chain reaction amplification of HBV DNA to determine the frequency and location of naturally occurring HBV core gene mutations. All but one patient had nucleotide changes, and 44 (64%) patients had at least one amino acid change (mean, 3.7; range, 1‐13) when compared with published sequences.

Nancy L. Ascher – 1 July 1995 – Background: Little information is available on the indications for, and the efficacy and timing of, liver transplantation in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). This issue is particularly relevant because prolonged survival has been reported in patients who do not undergo transplantation. Methods: Long‐term results of therapeutic interventions including liver transplantation were assessed in a representative series of 51 patients. Patient survival was compared with that expected from prognostic models.

J. Michael Millis, Paul Martin, Antoinette Gomes, Abraham Shaked, Steven D. Colquhoun, Oded Jurim, Leonard Goldstein, Ronald W. Busuttil – 1 July 1995 – This study was designed to evaluate the impact of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunts (TIPS) on liver transplantation. Historically, the complications of portal hypertension have been temporized with sclerotherapy or surgical portosystemic shunts. In patients whose liver disease progressed, liver transplantation has been used as definitive treatment.

Hiromasa Okamoto, Motoyasu Ishii, Yutaka Mano, Takehiko Igarashi, Yoshiyuki Ueno, Koju Kobayashi, Takayoshi Toyota – 1 July 1995 – The culture of fully differentiated intrahepatic bile duct epithelial cells (IBDECs) to use as a model for the in vivo intrahepatic biliary tract has not been established. IBDECs from normal rat livers were grown on a collagen‐coated permeable filter and formed a confluent monolayer 7 days after being plated. Positive reactions for cytokeratin‐19 and retained gamma‐glutamyl transpeptidase (GGTP) activity were shown.

Yuji Hoshino, Nobuyuki Enomoto, Namiki Izumi, Masayuki Kurosaki, Fumiaki Marumo, Chifumi Sato – 1 July 1995 – To study the role of antigen‐specific T lymphocytes in the pathogenesis of autoimmune hepatitis, messenger RNA of T‐cell receptors (TCR) was analyzed in liver biopsy specimens from four patients with autoimmune hepatitis. Using the TCR β‐chain variable region family specific oligonucleotides, a remarkable bias for the usage of β‐chain variable region 3 was detected in all four patients.

Francesco Violi, Domenico Ferro, Stefania Basili, Claudio Cimminiello, Mirella Saliola, Edoardo Vezza, Corrado Cordova, The Calc Group – 1 July 1995 – One hundred sixty‐five patients with cirrhosis diagnosed by needle liver biopsy were followed for 2 years to evaluate the relation between clotting factors and survival. Patients with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, hepatic carcinoma, and cholestatic liver diseases were excluded. Patients were classified as A (n = 34), B (n = 75), or C (n = 56) according to Child‐Pugh criteria.

Søren Møller, Niels Wiinberg, Jens H. Henriksen – 1 July 1995 – Cirrhotic patients have disturbed systemic hemodynamics with reduced arterial blood pressure, but this has not been investigated during daily activity and sleep. Systolic (SBP), diastolic (DBP), and mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), and heart rate (HR) were measured by an automatic ambulant device for monitoring blood pressure in 35 patients with cirrhosis and 35 healthy matched controls. During the daytime, SBP, DBP, and MAP were significantly lower in the patients than in the controls (median 118 vs. 127; 70 vs. 78; 86 vs.

Sophie Hillaire, François Ballet, Dominique Franco, Kenneth D. R. Setchell, Raoul Poupon – 1 July 1995 – Hepatic bile acid concentrations are elevated in chronic cholestasis because of reduced canalicular excretion and active ileal absorption of the fraction eliminated in the gut. Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) reduces the intestinal absorption of endogenous bile acids, thereby diminishing the concentrations to which liver cells are exposed.

Olivier Rosmorduc, Marie‐Anne Petit, Stanislas Pol, Francis Capel, Flavia Bortolotti, Pierre Berthelot, Christian Brechot, Dina Kremsdorf – 1 July 1995 – The mechanisms involved in hepatitis B virus (HBV) persistence are still poorly understood. We have previously shown that the encapsidation of the singly spliced 2.2 kb‐HBV RNA leads to the secretion of circulating HBV defective particles in patients with chronic hepatitis. We have now investigated the presence of the HBV defective particles in sera from patients with acute and chronic hepatitis, using polymerase chain reaction.

Gian Luca Grazi, Alighieri Mazziotti, Cristina Legnani, Elio Jovine, Rita Miniero, Antonio Gallucci, Gualtiero Palareti, Giuseppe Gozzetti – 1 July 1995 – The assessment of new and more sensitive serum markers for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents a useful contribution to the diagnosis of small liver tumors, still amenable by surgery.