Ulrich Treichel, Thomas Poralla, Georg Hess, Michael Manns, Karl‐Hermann Meyer Zum Büschenfelde – 1 April 1990 – Autoantibodies to the human asialoglycoprotein receptor (anti‐h‐ASGPR) were studied with a solid‐phase ELISA in the sera of 421 patients with inflammatory liver diseases, 288 patients with various other disorders and 31 controls. Anti‐h‐ASGPR were found predominantly in autoimmune chronic active hepatitis (44 of 88, 50%) and were closely related to inflammatory activity.

Francesco Salerno, Salvatore Badalamenti, Pierluigi Incerti, H. A. Koomans, J. J. Beutler, J. Van Hattum – 1 April 1990

1 April 1990

Eithan Galun, Daniel Shouval, Ruth Adler, Michal Shahaar, Meir Wilchek, Esther Hurwitz, Michael Sela – 1 April 1990 – Conjugates between chemotherapeutic agents and antibodies, linked by a dextran bridge, were previously shown to be effective in suppression of hepatoma growth in vitro and in vivo. However, scaling up of production of such conjugates may lead to a high degree of variation in molar ratios of drug to antibody in different batches. In this study, an alternative link between drug and antibody was evaluated.

A. Meike Jonker, Freke W. J. Dijkhuis, Frans G. M. Kroese, Machiel J. Hardonk, Joris Grond – 1 April 1990 – Galactosamine hydrochloride induces liver disease in tats that morphologically resembles drug‐induced hepatitis in man. In this study we analyzed the character of the inflammatory reaction following the toxic damage resulting from the administration of galactosamine hydrochloride using a broad panel of mono clonal antibodies to lymphocyte subsets and macrophages. Fat‐storing cells were identified with a polyclonal anti‐desmin antibody.

Roger F. Butterworth – 1 April 1990 – The neuropeptide diazepam binding inhibitor (DBI) is an endogeneous allosteric modulator of gammaaminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors at the benzodiazepine recognition site. Recent theories on the neurochemical cause for hepatic encephalopathy have implicated activation of inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA systems. In 20 patients with hepatic disease, blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of ammonia and amino acids were measured.

Gary C. Kanel, William Cassidy, Louis Shuster, Telfer B. Reynolds – 1 April 1990 – Although investigative research of animal models in cocaine metabolism and associated liver cell injury has been fairly extensive during the past 10 yr, little evidence of hepatotoxicity has been documented in man. We report a case of fulminant hepatic failure and acute rhabdomyolysis resulting from cocaine use.

Eric Fort, Denis Sautereau, Christine Silvain, Pierre Ingrand, Bernard Pillegand, Michel Beauchant – 1 April 1990 – A randomized trial was undertaken to determine the efficacy of nitroglycerin in addition to terlipressin infusion to improve the control of acute variceal hemorrhage compared with balloon tamponade. Fortyseven bleeding episodes in 34 cirrhotic patients were included, with terlipressin plus sublingual nitroglycerin in 23 episodes (group I) and balloon tamponade in 24 episodes (group II).

Richard H. Moseley – 1 April 1990 – The relationships between extracellular pH (pHo), intracellular pH (pHi), and loss of cell viability were evaluated in cultured rat hepatocytes after ATP depletion by metabolic inhibition with KCN and iodoacetate (chemical hypoxia). pHi was measured in single cells by ratio imaging of 2′, 7′ ‐biscarboxy‐ethyl‐5, 6‐carboxyfluorescein (BCECF) fluorescence using multiparameter digitized video microscopy. During chemical hypoxia at pHo of 7.4, pHi decreased from 7.36 to 6.33 within 10 min. pHi remained at 6.1–6.5 for 30–40 min. (plateau phase).

John E. Coe, Kamal G. Ishak, Mary Jane Ross – 1 April 1990 – Liver tumors were found in most Armenian hamsters (Cricetulus migratorius) injected with on 15‐mg pellet of diethylstilbestrol. The tumors were detectable as early as 1.5 mo after diethylstilbestrol administration and were usually present as multiple nodules that progressively increased in size. Histologically, the multicentric neoplasms were all hepatocellular carcinomas of varied degrees of differentiation and frequently (42.8%) contained Mallory bodies; preneoplastic lesions were not observed.