Zvi Ackerman, Boontar Valinluck, John G. McHutchison, Allan G. Redeker, Sugantha Govindarajan – 1 September 1992 – Forty‐six patients with chronic hepatitis delta virus infection were followed between 6 and 116 mo (mean = 32.8 mo; median = 24 mo). Nineteen patients (41%) demonstrated clinical courses with episodes of biochemical reactivation (ALT levels ≥ 10 times baseline values [group A]). Twenty‐seven patients (59%) had stable clinical courses without biochemical reactivation (group B). Patients in group A were younger than those in group B (30.5 vs.

América Giménez, Joan Caballería, Albert Parés, Silvia Alié, Ramón Deulofeu, Hernán Andreu, Joan Rodés – 1 September 1992 – The effects of dietary zinc on hepatic collagen and prolyl hydroxylase activity in normal and alcoholic rats has been investigated in four groups of pair‐fed male Wistar rats given either liquid ethanol or a control diet for 12 wk. Each group of pair‐fed animals received a diet with a different zinc concentration (standard diet, 7.6 mg/L; low‐zinc diet, 3.4 mg/L; zinc‐supplemented diet, 76 mg/L; and zincextrasupplemented, 300 mg/L.

Anthony J. Demetris, Kenjiro Nakamura, Atsuhito Yagihashi, Yuichi Iwaki, Shunichi Takaya, Grace G. Hartman, Noriko Murase, Oscar Bronsther, Rafael Manez, John J. Fung, Shunzaburo Iwatsuki, Thomas E. Starzl – 1 September 1992 – Twenty‐six adult patients with preformed IgG donor lymphocytotoxic antibodies received primary liver allografts under FK 506 immunosuppression. The effect of the crossmatch‐positive state on early graft function and on the immunopathological and histopathological findings was compared with that of 52 crossmatch‐negative control recipients.

Shun‐Ichi Okada, Yoshihirc Akahane, Hiroshi Suzuki, Hiroaki Okamoto, Shunji Mishiro – 1 September 1992 – We investigated amino acid heterogeneity in the variable regions of the E2/NS1 viral protein in interferon‐responsive and interferon‐nonresponsive patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. The study assessed whether any particular heterogeneity pattern(s) could be useful in predicting responsiveness to interferon treatment.

Giuseppe Maggiore, Costantino de Giacomo – 1 August 1992

Kris V. Kowdley, Anthony S. Tavill – 1 August 1992 – An iron loaded liver from a 40 year old man with occult haemochromatosis was transplanted into a 19 year old woman with acute liver failure secondary to a paracetamol overdose. Increased parenchymal hepatic iron was found in a liver specimen at biopsy under‐taken because of mild rejection 30 days after transplantation. After transplantation the patient had two episodes of liver rejection confirmed by biopsy. The hepatic iron concentration fell from 161 μmol/g on day 30 after transplant to 26.5 μmol/g (normal < 40) on day 210.

Steven E. Raper, Piyush C. Kothary, John Del Valle – 1 August 1992 – Binding of somatostatin‐14 to rat liver plasma membranes was characterized with 125‐labeled[tyr11] somatostatin‐14. Binding at 24° C reached a plateau at 50 min and was reversible by synthetic somatostatin‐14. Scatchard analysis revealed a single class of binding sites (affinity constant = 2.4 ± 0.2 nmol/L, binding capacity = 148 ± 0.02 fmol/mg protein).

Hiromi Himeno, Toshiji Saibara, Saburo Onishi, Yasutake Yamamoto, Hideaki Enzan – 1 August 1992 – In various organ‐specific autoimmune diseases, aberrant expression of major histocompatibility complex class II antigens on each target epithelial cell has been reported. Some researchers have attempted to link this phenomenon to the antigen‐presenting capacity and the induction of autoimmunity, whereas others think it might serve as a peripheral mechanism for the induction and the maintenance of self‐tolerance in autoreactive T cells.

Myriam Delhaye, Béatrice Gulbis, Paul Galand, Nicole Mairesse – 1 August 1992 – Previous study of rat liver during chemically induced hepatocarcinogenesis has shown that expression of isoforms of the 27‐kD heat‐shock protein was greater in neoplastic nodules and in hepatocellular carcinoma than in control livers. In this study, various human neoplastic and nonneoplastic liver tissues were investigated with electrophoresis after amino acid labeling to evaluate the expression of 27‐kD heat‐shock protein isoforms.

Masahide Yoshikawa, Tadasu Tsujii, Keisuke Matsumura, Junnichi Yamao, Yoshinobu Matsumura, Ryouichi Kubo, Hiroshi Fukui, Shigeaki Ishizaka – 1 August 1992 – Ursodeoxycholic acid was recently recognized as an effective agent in the treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis. Experimental evidence supporting the usefulness of ursodeoxycholic acid as a potentially beneficial therapeutic agent for primary biliary cirrhosis has been reported from the biochemical and physiological aspects.