1 April 1995

Bernd Dresow, Claudia Albert, Inge Zimmermann, Peter Nielsen – 1 April 1995 – Organ damage caused by iron overload has been mostly attributed to iron‐induced peroxidation of membrane lipids. Using the ferrocene iron—loaded rat model, we studied ethane exhalation as a direct marker of in vivo lipid peroxidation, as well as concentrations of α‐tocopherol and ubiquinol 9/10 in liver and plasma as indirect markers of this process. The feeding of a diet enriched with 0.5% TMH‐ferrocene up to 31 weeks resulted in a large increase in liver iron concentration to about 25 mg/g wet weight (w wt).

Rita Carini, Giorgio Bellomo, Angelo Benedetti, Rosella Fulceri, Alessandra Gamberucci, Maurizio Parola, Mario U. Dianzani, Emanuele Albano – 1 April 1995 – The exposure of isolated hepatocytes to the redox‐cycling quinone menadione caused an early loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) depletion, and decreased intracellular pH. These alterations were followed by an increase in intracellular Na+ and, ultimately, cell death.

Parvathi Mohan, Mark Failla, Ian Bremner, Ann Arthur‐Smith, Benny Kerzner – 1 April 1995 – Metallothionein (MT) and glutathione (GSH) have been implicated as two major copper‐binding agents involved in the hepatobiliary copper metabolism in the adult rat. This study was designed to explore their potential role in facilitating copper export from the copper‐laden hepatocyte of the newborn rat. Biliary and hepatic copper, GSH, and immunoreactive MT‐I concentrations were measured in Sprague‐Dawley rats at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8 weeks of age.

Jorge Quiroga, Bruno Sangro, Marina Núñez, Ignacio Bilbao, Jesús Longo, Luis García‐Villarreal, José M. Zozaya, Maite Betés, José I. Herrero, Jesús Prieto – 1 April 1995 – Seventeen cirrhotics with refractory ascites were treated with transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) and followed for 15.5 ± 3.4 months. Five patients died, four within 3 months after TIPS (hepatocellular failure) and one after 22 months (cholangiocarcinoma). Six patients received transplants 1 to 10 months after the procedure. Actuarial survival at 6, 12, and 24 months was 75%, 75%, and 63%, respectively.

Christian Homann, Peter Garred, Niels Graudal, Philip Hasselqvist, Michael Christiansen, Magne K. Fagerhol, Åge Christian Thomsen – 1 April 1995 – Plasma levels of calprotectin were determined in 84 patients with alcohol‐induced cirrhosis. Calprotectin is released from disintegrating neutrophils, and plasma levels seem to reflect activation and turnover of such cells. The purpose of the study was to investigate the degree of activation of neutrophils, which has been indicated to be increased and a cause of neutrophil exhaustion in these patients.

Daniel C. Sadowski, Samuel S. Lee, Ian R. Wanless, James K. Kelly, E. Jenny Heathcote – 1 April 1995 – Focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) is usually a stable lesion that does not enlarge when studied for long periods of time; recurrence after resection has not been reported. We present a patient with a solitary FNH lesion that enlarged, was resected, and then recurred. A second resection was performed because of abdominal pain and disclosed multiple lesions, two of which were acutely infarcted. Thirty‐two months later there was ultrasound evidence of further recurrence.

Niclas Pantzar, Peter B. F. Bergqvist, Mogens Bugge, Gunnar Olaison, Stefan Lundin, Bengt Jeppsson, Björn Weström, Finn Bengtsson – 1 April 1995 – Functional changes of the intestinal barrier that may occur after the creation of a portacaval shunt (PCS) were investigated. After chronic PCS in the rat, the intestinal absorption of and the jejunal permeability to the inert polymer marker polyethylene glycol (PEG) with molecular weight (Mw) ranging from 400 to 1,000 g/mol were investigated.

Nobuhiro Tsukada, Cameron A. Ackerley, M. James Phillips – 1 April 1995 – The distribution of actin filaments and actin‐binding proteins in the bile canaliculus (BC) of normal human hepatocytes was determined as a means of establishing the structure and organization of the BC cytoskeleton. Immunoblots demonstrated that actin, and the actin‐binding proteins, myosin II, tropomyosin, vinculin, α‐actinin, villin, were present, as were the non‐actin‐related proteins β‐tubulin, and cytokeratins.

Malcolm Mackinnon, Cindy Clayton, John Plummer, Michael Ahern, Patricia Cmielewski, Anthony Ilsley, Pauline Hall – 1 April 1995 – The role of iron deposition in initiating hepatic fibrosis in iron overload disorders is not clearly established, and it is becoming increasingly recognized that iron may be interacting with other potential liver‐damaging agents. The authors therefore examined the interplay of iron and alcohol in rats administered subtoxic doses of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) vapor at 20 ppm in customized chambers.