Renée E. Poupon, Beverley Balkau, Jérôme Guéchot, François Heintzmann – 1 March 1994 – The aim of this study was to define factors predictive of the onset of the terminal phase, defined by hyperbilirubinemia or the occurrence of a severe clinical complication, in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis treated with ursodeoxycholic acid. The 97 primary biliary cirrhosis patients in this study participated in a 2‐yr clinical trial.

Jehyuk Lee, Linda Greenbaum, Barbara A. Haber, Deborah Nagle, Victoria Lee, Vashti Miles, Kenneth L. Mohn, Maja Bucan, Rebecca Taub – 1 March 1994 – Insulin‐like growth factor–binding protein‐1s are important modulators of the insulin‐like growth factors that may have both positive and negative effects on the ability of insulin‐like growth factors to stimulate cell growth. The IGFBP‐1 gene is one of the most highly induced immediate‐early genes after partial hepatectomy.

A. Mieke Jonker, Freke W. J. Dijkhuis, Machiel J. Hardonk, Peter Moerkerk, Joop Ten Kate, Joris Grond – 1 March 1994 – Multiple injections of D‐galactosamine induce liver fibrosis and cirrhosis in rats. The purpose of this immunopathological study was to correlate inflammation and hepatic extracellular matrix remodeling after repeated administration of galactosamine. Rats were given 10, 20, 30, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 140 intraperitoneal injections of D‐galactosamine (500 mg/kg body wt, three times weekly). Controls received injections of saline solution.

Raymond N. Dubois – 1 March 1994 – The present study was conducted to examine the effect of activin A on growth of rat hepatocytes. EGF induced a 10‐fold increase in DNA synthesis as assessed by [3H]thymidine incorporation in cultured hepatocytes. When activin A was added together with EGF, DNA synthesis induced by EGF was markedly inhibited. Inhibition was detected at a concentration of 10−10 M, and 5×10−9 M activin A almost completely blocked EGF‐mediated DNA synthesis. Similarly, activin A completely blocked DNA synthesis induced by hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor.

Raymond T. Chung – 1 March 1994 – Interferons (IFNs) induce antiviral activity in many cell types. The ability of IFN‐γ to inhibit replication of ectromelia, vaccinia, and herpes simplex‐1 viruses in mouse macrophages correlated with the cells' production of nitric oxide (NO). Viral replication was restored in IFN‐γ–treated macrophages exposed to inhibitors of NO synthase. Conversely, epithelial cells with no detectable NO synthesis restricted viral replication when transfected with a complementary DNA encoding inducible NO synthase or treated with organic compounds that generate NO.

Lawrence S. Friedman – 1 March 1994

Ching‐Yih Lin, Pin‐Wen Lin, Hong‐Ming Tsai, Xi‐Zhang Lin, Ting‐Tsung Chang, Jeng‐Shiann Shin – 1 March 1994 – To determine the diagnostic accuracy of computer tomography in the detection of venous collaterals surrounding the esophagus in patients with portal hypertension, preoperative computer tomography interpretations of these veins in 15 patients who were candidates for the Sugiura procedure for treatment of esophageal varices were correlated with those of the intraoperative assessment.

Massimo Pinzani, Stefano Milani, Cecilia Grappone, Frederick L. Weber, Paolo Gentilini, Hanna E. Abboud – 1 March 1994 – Platelet‐derived growth factor has been shown to play an important role in the repair process after acute tissue injury and in the pathogenesis of several fibrogenic disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether increased expression of platelet‐derived growth factor and its β‐receptor subunit occurs in a model of acute liver injury.

Tse‐Ling Fong, Gary C. Kanel, Andrew Conrad, Boontar Valinluck, Francine Charboneau, Rodney H. Adkins – 1 March 1994 – The significance of antibodies to hepatitis C virus in patients with chronic alcoholic liver disease is unclear. Prior studies have utilized the first‐generation enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay, which is limited by problems with sensitivity and specificity.

Joan C. García‐Pagán, Faust Feu, Antoni Castells, Angelo Luca, Ramón C. Hermida, Francisca Rivera, Jaume Bosch, Joan Rodés – 1 March 1994 – This study was aimed at investigating whether portal pressure, which is usually measured in the morning, is subject to circadian variations in patients with cirrhosis. Furthermore, a possible circadian variation for the occurrence of variceal bleeding was also investigated.