Nobuyuki Enomoto, Shujiro Takase, Nobuo Takada, Akira Takada – 1 June 1991 – To clarify the pathogenetic role of acetaldehyde in the development of alcoholic liver disease, genotyping of aldehyde dehydrogenase‐2 genes was performed and the clinical features of the alcoholic liver disease patients with different genotypes were compared. Genotyping of aldehyde dehydrogenase‐2 was performed in 47 patients with alcoholic liver disease using the polymerase chain reaction and slot‐blot hybridization.

Floriano Rosina, Cristina Pintus, Carlton Meschievitz, Mario Rizzetto – 1 June 1991 – To determine whether long‐term therapy with recombinant interferon‐α can improve the course of chronic delta hepatitis, 61 Italian patients with this disease were randomly assigned to receive either interferon‐α‐2b three times a week (5 MU/m2 for 4 mo and then 3 MU/m2 for another 8 mo) or no treatment. At the end of the 12‐mo study, all patients were followed‐up for 12 additional months.

Giorgio Senaldi, Giorgina Mieli‐Vergani, Bernard Portmann, Alex P. Mowat, Diego Vergani – 1 June 1991

Hajime Takikawa, Tohru Narita, Naoyo Sano, Masami Yamanaka – 1 June 1991 – We previously reported that high‐dose infusion of ursodeoxycholate into rats caused its extensive glucuronidation. In this study, the glucuronidation of various bile acids after high‐dose infusion into rats was examined and the effects of coinfusion of bile acids on the glucuronidation of a trace dose of [14C]deoxycholate were also studied.

Joachim Bauer, Gabriella Lengyel, Swan N. Thung, Uwe Jonas, Wolfgang Gerok, George Acs – 1 June 1991 – Under strict observation of the ethical guidelines of the 1975 Declaration of Helsinki Human Research Committee, primary hepatocyte cultures were prepared from second‐trimester fetal liver specimens. We have shown for the first time that fetal hepatocytes have the capacity to produce an acutephase response on treatment with inflammatory mediators.

Fred Kern – 1 June 1991

Jorge J Gumucio, Teresa L. Wright – 1 June 1991 – In the period 1985–1988, 62 focal liver lesions in 58 cirrhotic patients were studied by ultrasonography; 12 of these focal lesions were documented to be regenerating lesions by echo‐guided fine‐needle biopsy. During an average follow‐up period of 10.2 months (range 3–22 months), hepatocellular carcinoma was subsequently found in 10 of the cases of regenerating nodules, whereas the initial diagnosis of regenerating nodule was confirmed in the remaining two cases.

Raymond S. Koff – 1 June 1991

James Neuberger – 1 June 1991 – The new immunosuppressive drug FK 506 was used from the outset with low doses of prednisone to treat 120 recipients of primary liver grafts and 20 more patients undergoing liver retransplantation. The patient survival rate after 2 to 8 months in the primary liver transplantation series is 93.3%, with original graft survival of 87.5%. Of the 20 patients in the hepatic retransplant series, 17 (85%) are living. Almost all of the surviving patients have good liver function.

Hyman Zimmerman – 1 June 1991