Paul Janowitz, Wolfgang Kratzer, Thomas Zemmler, Jürgen Tudyka, Johannes G. Wechsler – 1 August 1994 – Although the ultrasonic detection of gallbladder sludge is relatively frequent, its clinical importance remains unclear, partly because of the paucity of reliable investigations regarding its natural course in patients without stones. In a retrospective study we investigated the course and clinical significance of gallbladder sludge in patients without stones or other identified gallbladder abnormalities.

Cristiana Barbera, Flavia Bortolotti, Carlo Crivellaro, Alessandra Coscia, Lucia Zancan, Paolo Cadrobbi, Gabriella Nebbia, Maria Nazarena Pillan, Loredana Lepore, Teresa Parrella, Giuseppe Dastoli, Maurizia R. Brunetto, Ferruccio Bonino – 1 August 1994 – We conducted a prospective controlled study of the efficacy of recombinant interferon‐α2a in 77 children (44 boys, 33 girls, mean age 8 yr) with chronic hepatitis B. All patients had seropositive results for HBeAg and hepatitis B virus DNA; 52 had chronic persistent or nonspecific reactive hepatitis, and 25 had mild active hepatitis.

1 August 1994

Yasuhiro Nishizaki, Jonathan D. Kaunitz, Masaya Oda, Paul H. Guth – 1 August 1994 – Patients with cirrhosis have an increased incidence of gastric ulcers and erosions. We evaluated the effect of carbon tetrachloride—induced cirrhosis on rat gastric mucosal defense mechanisms using our recently developed in vivo fluorescence microscopy technique. Cirrhotic rats had increased portal vein pressure, increased serum aminotransferase concentrations and decreased serum albumin concentrations. We noted significantly more spontaneous gross gastric lesions in the cirrhotic rats.

Silvano Raia, Luiz Caetano Da Silva, Luiz Carlos C. Gayotto, Sonia Coutinho Forster, Julia Fukushima, Edna Strauss – 1 August 1994 – The long‐term follow‐up of patients with the severe form of Manson's schistosomiasis who had had elective surgical treatment for portal hypertension, in a randomized trial, was clinically evaluated. Of 94 patients, proximal splenorenal shunting was performed in 32, esophagogastric devascularization with splenectomy in 32 and distal splenorenal shunting in 30.

1 August 1994

Michael L. Schilsky – 1 August 1994 – Wilson disease (WD) is an autosomal recessive disorder of copper transport which maps to chromosome 13q14.3. In pursuit of the WD gene, we developed yeast artificial chromosome and cosmid contigs, and microsatellite markers which span the WD gene region. Linkage disequilibrium and haplotype analysis of 115 WD families confined the disease locus to a single marker interval. A candidate cDNA clone was mapped to this interval which, as shown in the accompanying paper, is very likely the WD gene.

Gianfranco Alpini, John O. Phillips, Benjamin Vroman, Nicholas F. Larusso – 1 August 1994

Yukio Kato, Ke‐Xin Liu, Toshikazu Nakamura, Yuichi Sugiyama – 1 August 1994 – Because hepatocyte growth factor is known to have affinity for heparin, we studied the binding isotherm and found that hepatocyte growth factor has a high‐affinity binding site for 35S‐heparin with an equilibrium dissociation constant of approximately 0.6 nmol/L. We then analyzed the pharmacokinetic behavior of the heparin–hepatocyte growth factor complex in rats.

Rebecca F. Harrison, Mervyn H. Davies, James M. Neuberger, Stefan G. Hubscher – 1 August 1994 – Fibroobliterative lesions and fibrous cholangitis are characteristic histological lesions of primary sclerosing cholangitis. To determine whether such lesions can be found in the liver allograft, and whether they represent recurrent disease, we reviewed all consecutive histological material taken at greater than 6 mo after transplantation in a 3‐yr period from a series of 207 liver transplantations (22 with primary sclerosing cholangitis, 185 controls without primary sclerosing cholangitis).