The Prova Study Group – 1 December 1991 – The objective of this randomized multicenter trial was to assess the prophylactic effect on the incidence and severity of the first variceal hemorrhage of endoscopic sclerotherapy, propranolol and the combination of the two compared with none of these treatments in patients with cirrhosis and esophageal varices.

Antonello Pietrangelo, Emilio Rocchi, Alberto Ferrari, Ezio Ventura, Gaetano Cairo – 1 December 1991 – Although many studies have examined the regulation of transferrin, transferrin receptor and ferritin subunit gene expression in experimental systems, no molecular biological data in humans have been documented to date. In this study we simultaneously analyzed the hepatic content of transferrin, transferrin receptor and heavy and light ferritin subunit messenger RNAs in tissue samples obtained from subjects with normal iron balance and patients with primary or secondary iron overload.

Yoshikazu Murawaki, Yuka Kusakabe, Chisato Hirayama – 1 December 1991 – Lysyl oxidase was partially purified from serum by a diethylaminoethyl batch procedure in the presence of 6 mom/L urea and dialyzed against 3 mol/L KSCN. Using this method, we determined serum lysyl oxidase activity in 52 patients with liver disease and in 14 healthy controls, and we examined usefulness of serum lysyl oxidase in assessing liver fibrogenesis. For this purpose, serum lyayl oxidase activity in chronic liver disease was compared with serum levels of prolyl hydroxylase and laminin P1.

Rudi Schmid – 1 December 1991

Abraham Zifroni, Fenton Schaffner – 1 December 1991 – We followed up a group of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis who participated in a 4‐yr prospective, double‐blind controlled trial of colchicine therapy for 4 additional years. All were placed on open label colchicine (0.6 mg twice daily) after the trial was concluded. Of the original group of 28 patients treated with colchicine, 8 died and 5 recieved transplants (3 of the 5 died). Of the original placebo control group eight patients died and six received transplants (1 of the 6 died).

Reinhild Klein, Joseph Eisenburg, Paul Weber, Frank Seibold, Peter A. Berg – 1 December 1991 – Antibodies against neutrophils have been detected in sera from patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis and inflammatory bowel diseases either by immunofluorescence or by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay.

Hiroaki Okuda, Nicola Tavoloni, Terrence F. Blaschke, Chi‐Li Kiang, Mary Jane T. Jones, Jeanne G. Waggoner, Mohinder K. Sardana, Shigeru Sassa, Richard I. Shrager, Paul D. Berk – 1 December 1991 – δ‐Aminolevulinic acid‐4‐[14C] and [3H]‐bilirubin were administered intravenously to five patients with Gilbert's syndrome and four healthy control subjects on two occasions: before and on days 10 through 14 of a course of phenobarbital (2.5 mg/kg/day).

Paul C. Adams, Edward Lin, Kathryn R. Barber, Chris W. M. Grant – 1 December 1991 – The elimination of toxic metal ions metabolically accumulated by patients remains a difficult clinical problem and a target of drug development. DTPA (diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid) is a hydrophilic chelating agent with high affinity for divalent and trivalent metal ions including iron but with a limited ability to cross cell membranes for access to iron stores.

E. Anthony Jones – 1 December 1991

Amanda J. Thornton, John Ham, Steven L. Kunkel – 1 December 1991 – Communication circuits operating between activated monocytes/macrophages and adjacent hepatocytes in the liver effect important alterations in hepatocyte function. We demonstrate here that primary human hepatocytes and hepatoma cells are able to function as effector cells in the recruitment of inflammatory cells in hepatic disease and inflammatory states by synthesizing a neutrophil/lymphocyte chemotactic factor, interleukin‐8.