Mohamed G. Saleh, Christopher J. Tibbs, John Koskinas, Leila M. M. B. Pereira, Adrian B. Bomford, Bernard C. Portmann, Ian G. McFarlane, Roger Williams – 1 December 1994 – Response to a 1‐yr course of interferon‐α2b was assessed in 18 patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection in relation to clinical, biochemical and histological parameters and to the presence or absence of hepatitis C virus RNA and the presumed replicative form of the virus (negative‐strand hepatitis C virus RNA) in serum, liver and peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Samy A. Azer, Geoffrey W. McCaughan, Neill H. Stacey – 1 December 1994 – Acute graft rejection is still a major cause of morbidity after orthotopic liver transplantation, and its diagnosis necessitates an invasive liver biopsy. Our aim has been to determine whether changes in individual serum bile acid levels after engraftment are sensitive, specific and reliable indicators of graft function and whether these changes can antedate other biochemical indicators of hepatic allograft rejection.

Rosa Maria Morillas, Ramon Planas, Eduard Cabré, Amparo Galán, Juan Carlos Quer, Faust Feu, Joan Carles García Pagán, Jaume Bosch, Miquel Angel Gassull – 1 December 1994 – The effect on kidney function, vasoactive systems and ascites outcome of long‐term treatment with propranolol plus isosorbide‐5‐mononitrate, a combined therapy proven more effective than propranolol alone in decreasing portal pressure in the cirrhotic patient, is unknown. Thirty cirrhotic patients who survived acute variceal bleeding and were treated with propranolol plus isosorbide‐5‐mononitrate were studied.

Brian Burchell B.Sc. Ph.D. MCRPath., Michael W. H. Coughtrie, Peter L. M. Jansen – 1 December 1994

Franklin M. Klion – 1 December 1994

Hanns Löhr, Christopher Nagel, Hans‐Peter Dienes, Barry Simpson, Gerd Michel, Bernd Goergen, Karl‐Hermann Meyer Zum Büschenfelde, Guido Gerken – 1 December 1994 – Hepatitis C virus antibodies are found in the serum of most patients with chronic hepatitis C. However, the significance of the humoral response is still uncertain. In this study, in vitro IgG and IgM anti‐hepatitis C virus secretion by peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with chronic hepatitis C was analyzed.

Marielle Cohard, Thierry Poynard, Philippe Mathurin, Jean Pierre Zarski – 1 December 1994 – The aim of this study was to review all published randomized clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of a combination of prednisone and interferon in treatment of chronic hepatitis B and to subject these studies to metanalysis. Two types of metanalyses were carried out: direct metanalysis, comparing the prednisone‐interferon combination with interferon on its own; and indirect metanalysis, comparing the treatment efficacy of prednisone‐interferon and of interferon with control results.

Antonio Chedid, Kurmanadha R. Chadalawada, Timothy R. Morgan, Thomas E. Moritz, Charles L. Mendenhall, James B. Hammond, Peter W. Emblad, Doris C. Cifuentes, Joanne W. H. Kwak, Alice Gilman‐Sachs, Kenneth D. Beaman – 1 December 1994 – Alcoholic liver injury has been reported to be directed preferentially against the proteins of the cell membrane, sparing the phospholipids. However, antiphospholipid antibodies against certain cell membrane phospholipids are known to be associated with a variety of diseases.

Thomas D. Boyer, Dennis D. Kokenes, Gary Hertzler, Michael H. Kutner, J. Michael Henderson – 1 December 1994 – Distal splenorenal shunt is known to effectively control bleeding from esophageal and gastric varices; however, the effect of this selective shunt on liver function is less well understood. We examined retrospectively the effect of distal splenorenal shunt on the survival of 19 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis subjected to surgery for bleeding varices over a 20‐yr period and had been followed for at least 1 yr.

Lesley Helyar, Daniela S. Bundschuh, Jeffrey D. Laskin, Debra L. Laskin – 1 December 1994 – Nitric oxide is a highly reactive mediator released in the liver by hepatocytes, Kupffer cells and endothelial cells during endotoxin‐induced inflammation. In this study we determined whether Ito cells also produce nitric oxide after exposure to endotoxin. For induction of endotoxemia, rats were injected intravenously with Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (2.5 mg/kg).