Harvey J. Alter – 1 February 1992

Jorge J. Gumucio, Thomas F. Imperiale, Arthur J. McCullough – 1 February 1992 – Background. The value of beta‐adrenergic‐antagonist drug therapy for the prevention of initial episodes of gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with cirrhosis and esophageal varices is uncertain, both positive and negative study results having been reported.

Lennox J. Jeffers, Fuad Hasan, Maria de Medina, Rajender Reddy, Talley Parker, Marcelo Silva, Leonardo Mendez, Eugene R. Schiff, Michael Manns, Michael Houghton, Qui‐Lim Choo, George Kuo – 1 February 1992 – Many cases of chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis cannot be attributed to a known cause and are collectively referred to as cryptogenic chronic liver disease. We have evaluated the role of the hepatitis C virus in the pathogenesis of this condition in a retrospective serum analysis for antibody to hepatitis C virus in 129 patients with cryptogenic liver disease.

Claude Degott, Gérard Feldmann, Dominique Larrey, Anne‐Marie Durand‐Schneider, Didier Grange, Jean‐Pierre Machayekhi, Alain Moreau, François Potet, Jean‐Pierre Benhamou – 1 February 1992 – Drug‐induced acute hepatitis may be followed by prolonged cholestasis despite the withdrawal of the drug. Eight patients suffering from prolonged cholestasis caused by several drugs were investigated with sequential liver biopsies.

Toshiaki Gunji, Nobuo Kawauchi, Shin Ohnishi, Takashi Ishikawa, Hitoshi Nakagama, Takashi Kaneko, Takashi Moriyama, Nobuyuki Matsuhashi, Yoshio Yazaki, Michio Imawari – 1 February 1992 – Twenty‐two patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were treated by a new method of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization using an autologous blood clot as an embolizing agent. All had underlying advanced cirrhosis (14 Child's class B and 8 Child's class C patients). The median follow‐up interval was 11 mo (range = 2 to 30 mo).

Jaideep Thottassery, Lloyd Winberg, Jihan Youssef, Michael Cunningham, Mostafa Z. Badr – 1 February 1992 – A wide variety of compounds, including hypolipidemic drugs, plasticizers and other industrial chemicals, have been found to cause liver enlargement and hepatic peroxisome proliferation by mechanisms that are unclear. Although thyroid and sex hormones have been shown to modulate the hepatic response to these chemicals, the role of adrenal hormones in these phenomena is not clear, and a few studies have produced conflicting data.

Scott L. Friedman, Don C. Rockey, Richard F. McGuire, Jacquelyn J. Maher, Janet K. Boyles, Glenn Yamasaki – 1 February 1992 – The development of techniques for isolating hepatic lipocytes (Ito, stellate or fat‐storing cells) from rodents has been instrumental in defining their role in hepatic vitamin A storage and fibrogenesis. In this study, we developed a method for the purification of lipocytes and Kupffer cell from wedge sections of normal human liver and examined their properties in primary culture.

Paul C. Adams, Ann E. Kertesz – 1 February 1992 – To assess the clinical value of human leukocyte antigen typing in the diagnosis and management of hereditary hemochromatosis, 105 siblings of 35 proband cases of hemochromatosis were retrospectively analyzed to study whether the exclusion of human leukocyte antigen typing would have adversely affected management. All siblings and probands had already been tested for human leukocyte antigen‐A and human leukocyte antigen–B typing, serum ferritin and transferrin saturation. The median age of siblings was 55 yr (range = 11 to 82).

Riccardo Volpes, Joost J. van den Oord, Valeer J. Desmet – 1 February 1992 – Adhesion to and penetration through the sinusoidal vascular endothelium is a mandatory step for leukocyte migration and accumulation at sites of liver inflammation. This leukocyte trafficking is controlled by interactions between adhesion molecules on leukocytes and corresponding ligands on endothelial cells.

Gary P. Bray, J. Michael Tredger, Roger Williams – 1 February 1992 – Because S‐adenosylmethionine promotes synthesis of hepatic glutathione in chronic liver disease and is well tolerated in man, we investigated its use as an antidote to acetaminophen hepatotoxicity in two mouse models.