Patrice Beaudry, Antoine Hadengue, Jacques Callebert, Christophe Gaudin, Hany Soliman, Richard Moreau, Jean Marie Launay, Didier Lebrec – 1 October 1994 – Serotoninergic mechanisms are thought to play a role in portal hypertension. Because this biomine is metabolized by the liver, peripheral blood and plasma levels of 5‐hydroxytryptamine and 5‐hydroxyindole acetic acid (the main metabolite of 5‐hydroxytryptamine) were measured in 30 patients with cirrhosis.

Marshall J. Orloff, Richard H. Bell, Mark S. Orloff, William G. M. Hardison, A. Gerson Greenburg – 1 October 1994 – A prospective randomized trial was conducted in unselected, consecutive patients with bleeding esophageal varices resulting from cirrhosis comparing (1) emergency portacaval shunt performed within 8 hr of initial contact (21 patients) with (2) emergency medical therapy (intravenous vasopressin and esophageal balloon tamponade) followed in 9 to 30 days by elective portacaval shunt in survivors (22 patients).

A. Guan Lim, Riadh P. Jazrawi, Hafez A. Ahmed, Joanne H. Levy, Massimo Zuin, Andrew C. Douds, J. Douglas, Tim C. Northfield – 1 October 1994 – Intercellular adhesion molecule—1, strongly expressed on the interlobular and proliferating bile ducts in primary biliary cirrhosis, is important in the migration and adhesion of inflammatory cells from the circulation to these structures. A soluble form has been found to be elevated in serum in primary biliary cirrhosis.

Stefan G. Hubscher, Ann Williams, Suzanne M. Davison, Lawrence S. Young, Gerald Niedobitek – 1 October 1994 – The Epstein‐Barr virus is associated with a broad spectrum of lymphoproliferative diseases in liver allograft recipients. To investigate the effects of primary infection in children following liver transplantation and the possible role of Epstein‐Barr virus in the pathogenesis of unexplained chronic hepatitis after transplantation, we used an in situ hybridization technique to detect small virus encoded nuclear RNAs in posttransplant specimens.

Rafael Bruck, Michael H. Nathanson, Han Roelofsen, James L. Boyer – 1 October 1994 – Both protein kinase C and cytosolic Ca2+ are involved in the regulation of exocytosis in a number of cell types. However, the relative importance of each of these for apical exocytosis in the hepatocyte is unknown. To investigate this, we studied the effects of protein kinase C and Ca2+ agonists on horseradish peroxidase excretion in the isolated perfused rat liver.

Nieves Rodriguez‐Henche, Luis G. Guijarro, Alain Couvineau, Isabel Carrero, Eduardo Arilla, Marc Laburthe, Juan C. Prieto – 1 October 1994 – Liver proliferation appears to be dually regulated, in part by cyclic AMP levels. Here we studied the alterations in the stimulatory action of cholera toxin and other agents on the adenylyl cyclase system, as well as the status of Gs and Gi protein subunits during the liver proliferation that follows bile duct ligation in rats.

1 October 1994

Teresa L. Wright, Connie Combs, Michael Kim, Linda Ferrell, Peter Bacchetti, Nancy Ascher, John Roberts, Judith Wilber, Pat Sheridan, Mickey Urdea – 1 October 1994 – The aims of this pilot study were to evaluate the safety and efficacy of interferon‐α2b for treatment of hepatitis C virus infection in liver transplant recipients, to monitor changes in hepatitis C virus RNA levels with treatment and to determine pretreatment parameters predictive of a complete response.

Carlos E. Angueira, Shailesh C. Kadakia – 1 October 1994 – Large‐volume paracentesis is an accepted therapeutic modality for the treatment of tense ascites in patients with cirrhosis. Whereas the effects of large‐volume paracentesis on the cardiovascular system have been studied in great detail, the effects of tense ascites and large‐volume paracentesis on the respiratory system have undergone only limited evaluation. Most patients report symptomatic improvement in breathing after large‐volume paracentesis.

James R. Hully, Ling Chang, Ralph H. Schwall, H. Ramon Widmer, Timothy G. Terrell, Nancy A. Gillett – 1 October 1994 – Recombinant human activin A, a member of the transforming growth factor‐β superfamily, induced significant cell loss in rodent livers and in primary hepatocyte cultures. Histologically and biochemically the hepatocyte death was mediated by apoptosis, a form of programmed cell death. Male mice were treated with 200 or 500 μg recombinant human activin A/kg body wt/day for up to 3 days by means of a subcutaneously implanted minipump.