Jean‐Paul Briand, Chantal Andre, Nadine Tuaillon, Laurence Herve, Jean Neimark, Sylviane Muller – 1 December 1992 – Antimitochondrial autoantibodies are present in sera from close to 95% of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis. The so‐called primary biliary cirrhosis‐specific antigen, named M2, was found to be associated with an enzyme complex of the inner mitochondrial membrane and, more precisely, with the E2 component, dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase, of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex.

Ignacio Landa, Javier Arias, Manuel Gómez, Manuel Quadros, Ana Moreno, José Luis Balibrea – 1 December 1992 – To evaluate the possible cytoprotective effect of somatostatin in hepatic ischemic reperfusion injury we used 75 adult male Wistar rats randomly separated into four groups. The rats in group 1 underwent sham operations, and those in group 2 underwent resection of the median and left lateral lobes. The rats in group 3 underwent a 90‐min period of ischemia of the right lateral lobe, which we induced by temporarily occluding the right portal vein and the hepatic artery.

Wilhelm G. Doos – 1 December 1992

J. Donald Ostrow – 1 December 1992

Ethel Macintosh, Tony Gauthier, Norman Pettigrew, Gerald Minuk – 1 December 1992 – There are conflicting data regarding the ability of the liver to regenerate after partial hepatectomy in animals and humans with cirrhosis. The purpose of this study was to document liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy in a carbon tetrachloride rat model of cirrhosis and to determine whether exogenous putrescine, a polyamine that has been reported to stimulate liver regeneration in animal models of acute liver failure, enhances regenerative activity in cirrhosis.

Chu Chieh Hsia, Ritva P. Evarts, Harushige Nakatsukasa, Elizabeth R. Marsden, Snorri S. Thorgeirsson – 1 December 1992 – Proliferation of a new population of epithelial cells with distinct structure, as well as cytokeratin and α‐fetoprotein expression, was observed in nonneoplastic liver tissues from 14 cases (13 hepatitis B virus—positive) of human hepatocellular carcinoma. These cells were characterized by oval nuclei; scant, pale cytoplasm; small cell size; and cross‐reaction with a monoclonal antibody against rat oval cells.

Michael F. Kestell, John Sekijima, Sum P. Lee, Han Z. Park, Michelle Long, Eric W. Kaler – 1 December 1992 – Calcium salts are often present in the center of all types of gallstones. Matrix proteins are known to be essential for biomineralization and may therefore also be important in the formation and growth of gallstones. Other researchers have described an anionic peptide fraction of a biliary lipoprotein complex in bile and a low—molecular weight acidic glycoprotein present in gallstones.

Janusz Cianciara, Tomasz Laskus – 1 December 1992

Paolo Angeli, Lorenza Caregaro, Francesca Menon, David Sacerdoti, Renzo de Toni, Carlo Merkel, Angelo Gatta – 1 December 1992 – Ascitic cirrhotic patients are a heterogenous population with respect to factors that may affect plasma human atrial natriuretic peptide levels (such as degree of plasma volume and plasma levels of angiotensin II, vasopressin and norepinephrine). Thus the proven variability of plasma human atrial natriuretic peptide values in ascitic cirrhotic patients may be due also to the selection of patients, not only to the study conditions.

Per Brøbech Mortensen – 1 December 1992 – The influence of lactulose on organic acid fermentation, nitrogen metabolism and excretion in the colonassociated with its mechanism of action on hepatic encephalopathy was investigated. Orally administered lactulose in increasing amounts (0 to 20 to 40 to 80 to 160 gm/day) to 12 healthy volunteers decreased ammonia production in 16.6% fecal homogenates incubated 6 hr and 24 hr at 37° C (mean ± S.E.M.:from 7 ± 1 to 0 ± 0 and from 13 ± 2 to 0 ± 0 mmol/L, respectively).