Giorgio Saracco, Giuseppe Mazzella, Floriano Rosina, Claudio Cancellieri, Valter Lattore, Enzo Raise, Giuseppe Rocca, Laura Giorda, Giorgio Verme, Giovanni Gasbarrini, Luigi Barbara, Ferruccio Bonino, Mario Rizzetto, Enrico Roda – 1 September 1989 – Sixty‐four heterosexual Italian carriers of HBsAg with chronic HBeAg and hepatitis B virus DNA‐positive hepatitis were assigned randomly either to receive human lymphoblastoid interferon (injections of 5 million units per m2 three times per week for 6 months) or to serve as untreated controls.

Henry Bodenheimer – 1 September 1989

1 September 1989

Takehiro Mitsui, Keiko Iwano, Shigeru Suzuki, Chikao Yamazaki, Kazuo Masuko, Fumio Tsuda, Shinobu Aihara, Yoshihiro Akahane, Yuzo Miyakawa, Makoto Mayumi – 1 September 1989 – Twenty‐three staff members serving in a hemodi‐alysis unit were exposed accidentally to needlestick contaminated with blood containing hepatitis B surface antigen and hepatitis B e antigen, as well as high levels of DNA polymerase activity (< 100 cpm).

Lung‐Ji Chang, Jules Dienstag, Don Ganem, Harold Varmus – 1 September 1989 – By the use of a truncated recombinant hepatitis B virus polymerase antigen, we have characterized a series of patient sera for anti‐hepatitis B virus polymerase antibodies. Seven of 54 (13%) had antipolymerase antibodies detectable by Western blot analysis, and no close correlation was apparent between the disease status and patient's immune response against hepatitis B virus polymerase antigen.

Yun‐Fan Liaw, Anna Lok – 1 September 1989

Yang‐Te Tsai, Fa‐Yauh Lee, Han‐Chieh Lin, Ting‐Tsung Chang, Chii‐Shyan Lay, Sun‐Sang Wang, Chi‐Woon Kong, Shou‐Dong Lee, Kwang‐Juei Lo – 1 September 1989 – We conducted a randomized controlled hemodynamic study to evaluate the effect of placebo and 20 mg isosorbide‐5‐mononitrate, a long‐acting organic nitrate, in 19 patients with HBsAg‐positive cirrhosis by the simultaneous measurement of portal venous pressure and wedged hepatic venous pressure. Baseline values for the two groups were similar.

Patrick Marcellin, Denis Ouzan, Françoise Degos, Christian Brechot, Etienne‐Henri Metman, Claude Degott, Michelle Chevalier, Pierre Berthelot, Christian Trepo, Jean‐Pierre Benhamou – 1 September 1989 – Twenty‐two heterosexuals and 21 homosexuals with chronic active hepatitis B and who had HBsAg, HBeAg and hepatitis B virus DNA in serum were randomized separately to receive adenine arabinoside monophos‐phate or placebo. In the 10 heterosexuals and nine homosexuals who received placebo, no change in hepatitis B virus DNA level and HBeAg was observed.

Richard J. Chernick, Pavel Martasek, Richard D. Levere, Raimund Margreiter, Nader G. Abraham – 1 September 1989 – Heme oxygenase, the rate‐limiting enzyme for heme degradation, can be inhibited by several new synthetic metalloporphyrins. Under certain conditions, a depression in heme oxygenase activity has important clinical significance in the treatment of hyperbilirubinemia, and, in this regard, tin‐protoporphyrin has been shown to decrease the production of bilirubin in vitro as well as in vivo.

Josep Terés – 1 September 1989 – Sengstaken‐Blakemore tamponade is used for the initial control of bleeding esophageal varices (BEV), although it is known to be potentially dangerous. Sclerotherapy has been shown to be effective in the treatment of BEV. This trial has been designed to evaluate comparatively the effectiveness of both procedures in the initial control of the hemorrhage.