Linda J. Scully, David Brown, Chris Lloyd, Ruvan Shein, Howard C. Thomas – 1 November 1990 – Lymphoblastoid interferon is effective therapy in some but not all patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection. To assess whether immunological parameters were predictive of response to interferon therapy, we determined the human leukocyte antigen type, CD4/CD8 ratio, natural killer cell activity, IgM anti‐HBc antibody levels and concanavalin A—induced lymphocyte proliferative response in 30 patients before treatment.

Kai O. Lindros, Yuan Cai, Kai E. Penttilä – 1 November 1990 – The ethanol‐inducible form of cytochrome P‐450 (IIE1) is expressed and induced by ethanol, predominantly in the centrilobular region. Because this isoenzyme has a particularly high capacity to convert carbon tetrachloride and several other hepatotoxins into reactive intermediates, its role in producing damage was studied by comparing the effect of carbon tetrachloride exposure on hepatocytes isolated from either the periportal or the perivenous region by digitonin‐collagenase perfusion.

1 November 1990

Cihan Yurdaydin, Heide Hörtnagl, Petra Steindl, Christof Zimmermann, Christian Pifl, Ernst A. Singer, Erich Roth, Peter Ferenci – 1 October 1990 – Functional changes of various neurotransmitter systems have been implicated in the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy. In this study the role of brain monoaminergic neurotransmitter systems in hepatic encephalopathy was investigated in rats with thioacetamide‐induced acute liver failure.

Fergus D. Davison, Elizabeth A. Fagan, Bernard Portmann, Roger Williams – 1 October 1990 – One patient with the fibrolamellar variant of hepatocellular carcinoma was found to be seropositive for HBsAg and anti‐HBe. DNA from tumor and nontumor areas of the liver was examined by molecular hybridization for hepatitis B virus DNA sequences. Undigested DNA from the tumor gave a high‐molecular‐weight smear, and restriction‐enzyme analysis indicated a single instance of integration. Nontumor liver tissue was analyzed from three separate areas.

1 October 1990

Wouter H. Lamers, Willem Been, Robert Charles, Antoon F. M. Moorman – 1 October 1990 – Urea cycle enzymes and glutamine synthetase are essential for NH3 detoxification and systemic pH homeostasis in mammals. Carbamoylphosphate synthetase, the first and flux‐determining enzyme of the cycle, is found only in a large periportal compartment, and glutamine synthetase is found only in a small, complementary pericentral compartment.

Douglas B. McGill – 1 October 1990

Bruce A. Runyon – 1 October 1990 – Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is diagnosed when (a) the ascitic fluid culture is positive, (b) the ascitic fluid neutrophil count is ≥ 250 cells/mm3 and (c) there is no evident intraabdominal surgically treatable source for infection. Few details are available regarding the variant of ascitic fluid infection in which the culture grows bacteria (pure growth of a single type of organism), but the neutrophil count is <250 cells/mm3.

Kendo Kiyosawa, Takeshi Sodeyama, Eiji Tanaka, Yukio Gibo, Kaname Yoshizawa, Yoshiyuki Nakano, Seiichi Furuta, Yoshihiro Akahane, Kusuya Nishioka, Robert H. Purcell, Harvey J.