Nancy Bach, Henry C. Bodenheimer – 1 December 1992 – Serum samples from eight pregnant women and their offspring were studied by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA to evaluate mother‐to‐child transmission of this virus. The mothers were all infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); none showed symptoms of HCV infection. Anti‐HCV antibodies were tested for by recombinant immunoblot assay. HCV viral sequences were found in five of the mothers and four of eight children, three of them at birth.

Denis Devictor, Laurence Desplanques, Dominique Debray, Yves Ozier, Anne‐Marie Dubousset, Jacques Valayer, Didier Houssin, Olivier Bernard, Gilbert Huault – 1 November 1992 – We report our results with orthotopic liver transplantation in children with fulminant liver failure. Thirty‐five children with fulminant liver failure were evaluated for liver transplantation. The main causes of liver failure were viral hepatitis (54.2%), drug‐induced liver injury (14.2%) and Wilson's disease (11.4%).

Jens H. Henriksen, Flemming Bendtsen, Alexander L. Gerbes, Niels Juel Christensen, Helmer Ring‐Larsen, Thorkild I. A. Sørensen – 1 November 1992 – The estimated central blood volume (i.e., blood volume in the heart cavities, lungs and central arterial tree) was determined by multiplying cardiac output by circulatory mean transit time in 19 patients with cirrhosis and compared with sympathetic nervous activity and circulating level of atrial natriuretic factor. Arterial norepinephrine level, an index of overall sympathetic nervous activity (3.08 nmol/L in patients vs.

Anna Mae Diehl, Shi Qi Yang, Piera Cote, Gary S. Wand – 1 November 1992 – Evidence suggests that ethanol desensitizes hepatocytes to the trophic effects of hormones. Cyclic AMP–dependent signals are important regulators of intermediary metabolism, cellular proliferation and differentiation, and modulate liver growth during hepatic regeneration.

Lynne W. Elmore, Alphonse E. Sirica – 1 November 1992 – Furan rapidly induces in rat liver a unique, lobespecific pattern of development of intestinal metaplasia and associated cholangiofibrosis. To establish early cell‐precursor relationships in the genesis of this cholangiofibrosis, a time‐course study was conducted in which young adult male Fisher 344 rats received furan by gavage at a daily dose of 45 mg/kg body wt over a 32‐day treatment period.

Stuart I. Myers, Lori Bartula – 1 November 1992 – Microsomal prostanoid synthesis was compared in normal gallbladders removed during organ donation and inflamed gallbladders removed at cholecystectomy. Normal human gallbladder microsomes demonstrated low rates of conversion of [14C]arachidonic acid to total labeled prostanoids, which increased during 1 to 30 min of incubation. Normal human gallbladder microsomes converted labeled substrate to all primary prostaglandins without demonstration of a major product.

Richard Sallie, Leah Katsiyiannakis, Dianne Baldwin, Sue Davies, John O'Grady, Alex Mowat, Giorgina Mieli‐Vergani, Roger Williams – 1 November 1992 – Serum, urine and tissue biochemical findings were studied in 21 cases of fulminant Wilson's disease with respect to the value of a recently described biochemical index based on serum alkaline phosphatase and total serum bilirubin levels, and these cases were compared with 193 other cases of fulminant liver failure.

Neil Kaplowitz – 1 November 1992

Toshiaki Nonami, Itsuo Yokoyama, Shunzaburo Iwatsuki, Thomas E. Starzl – 1 November 1992 – The incidence of portal vein thrombosis was examined in 885 patients who received orthotopic liver transplantations for various end‐stage liver diseases between 1989 and 1990. The thrombosis was classified into four grades. Grade 1 was thrombosis of intrahepatic portal vein branches, grade 2 was thrombosis of the right or left portal branch or at the bifurcation, grade 3 was partial obstruction of the portal vein trunk, and grade 4 was complete obstruction of the portal vein trunk.

Jeffrey L. Barnett – 1 November 1992 – Background. Emergency surgery for patients with severe acute cholangitis due to choledocholithiasis is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Because recent results suggested that emergency endoscopic drainage could improve the outcome of such patients, we undertook a prospective study to determine the role of this procedure as initial treatment.