S Kaur, L Rybicki, B R Bacon, J L Gollan, V K Rustgi, W D Carey – 1 November 1996 – Chronic viral hepatitis frequently goes undetected until cirrhosis develops. Although the effect of interferon on the natural history of hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in asymptomatic persons is unknown, treatment may modify the course of the infection, producing cures in some. In September 1992, screening for HBV and HCV was offered in 40 centers throughout the United States. Demographic features, potential risk factors, and symptoms were studied.

Geoffrey McCaughan, Peter Angus, Scott Bowden, Tim Shaw, Allan Breschkin, Ross Sheil, Stephen Locarnini – 1 November 1996 – Retransplantation for hepatitis B—related liver allograft failure is rarely successful. Recurrence of infection is almost universal, and the second allograft is invariably lost more rapidly than the first. In a recent multicenter study, only 1 of 20 hepatitis B virus (HBV)—positive patients who underwent liver retransplantation survived beyond 6 months.

Robert E. Shangraw, John G. Hexem – 1 November 1996 – Insulin regulates glucose and potassium metabolism by acting differently upon peripheral tissues (e.g., skeletal muscle) and the splanchnic bed, including the liver. Liver disease is accompanied by “insulin resistance” of glucose metabolism, whereby glucose intolerance occurs despite relatively increased plasma insulin concentration. However, it is unknown whether insulin resistance extends to potassium metabolism.

Gerald M. Fraser, Konstantinos Grammoustianos, Jayendravandan Reddy, Keith Rolles, Brian Davidson, Andrew K. Burroughs – 1 November 1996 – Long‐term treatment with corticosteroids after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) may cause adverse effects, particularly hypertension, diabetes, and bone disease. The results of steroid withdrawal from long‐term immunosuppression in 114 patients after OLT was reviewed. Initial treatment was with corticosteroids, azathioprine, and cyclosporine A in 76.3% and with antithymocyte globulin in 17.5%.

G W Xu, Z T Sun, K Forrester, X W Wang, J Coursen, C C Harris – 1 November 1996 – Selective expression of cytotoxic gene products in tumor cells is one of the goals of gene therapy for treating cancer. We are developing such a strategy for the treatment of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by linking the wild‐type p53 (WT‐p53) gene with HCC‐associated transcriptional control elements (TCE) to achieve selective growth inhibition of retrovirally transduced HCC cells.

J Cai, W Sun, J Hwang, S C Stain, S C Lu – 1 November 1996 – S‐adenosylmethionine synthetase (SAMS) catalyzes the formation of S‐adenosylmethionine (SAM) and is essential to normal cell function. There are two forms of SAMS, liver‐specific and nonliver‐specific (often referred to as “kidney”), which are products of two different genes. SAMS isoenzymes differ greatly in kinetic parameters and sensitivity to inhibition by methionine analogs. The current work studied changes in SAMS and their significance in liver cancer.

David R. Mack, Stephen A. Chartrand, Elizabeth I. Ruby, Dean L. Antonson, Byers W. Shaw, Thomas G. Heffron – 1 November 1996 – Our objective was to determine the immunologic response to two influenza vaccine doses in 39 children who had undergone liver transplantation. Patients received two doses of trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine 4 weeks apart. Sera were collected 4 weeks after each dose and analyzed by a hemagglutination inhibition assay (HAI) for evidence of antibody response to the antigens A/Taiwan/1/86 (H1N1), A/Beijing/32/92 (H3N2), and B/Panama/45/95.

M. E. Moussa, C. E. Sarraf, S. Uemoto, H. Sawada, N. A. Habib – 1 November 1996 – The aim of this investigation was to observe ultrastructural changes in the liver in response to warm ischemia during liver surgery. In 11 noncirrhotic patients, hepatic resection was performed under total vascular exclusion (TVE). The mean duration of warm ischemia was 28 minutes (range 16–48 minutes). Three specimens were taken from each patient: before clamping, at the end of TVE, and after reperfusion. Biopsy specimens were studied by light microscopy and by transmission electron microscopy (EM).

Jeffrey S. Plotkin, Victor L. Scott, Anthony Pinna, Brent P. Dobsch, Andre M. De Wolf, Yoogoo Kang – 1 November 1996 – Thirty‐two patients with coronary artery disease who underwent liver transplantation between 1990 and 1994 were identified. Coronary artery disease was managed medically (n = 9), by angioplasty (n = 1), or surgically (n = 22) prior to liver transplantation. Two patients underwent simultaneous coronary artery bypass grafting and liver transplantation. Complete preoperative cardiac evalution was performed in all patients.

R A Weisiger – 1 November 1996 – After entering the cell, small molecules must penetrate the cytoplasm before they are metabolized, excreted, or can convey information to the cell nucleus. Without efficient cytoplasmic transport, most such molecules would efflux back out of the cell before they could reach their targets. Cytoplasmic movement of amphipathic molecules (e.g., long‐chain fatty acids, bilirubin, bile acids) is greatly slowed by their tendency to bind intracellular structures.