1 February 1989

Ricardo Mastaï, Bernard Rocheleau, P. ‐Michel Huet – 1 February 1989 – It has recently been reported that the administration of ketanserin, a serotonin antagonist, was associated with a significant reduction in portal pressure both in portal hypertensive rats and cirrhotic patients. However, this beneficial effect on splanchnic hemodynamics was accompanied by a significant reduction in arterial pressure.

Jurgen Ludwig, Chung H. Kim, Russell H. Wiesner, Ruud A. F. Krom – 1 February 1989 – A 43‐year‐old man underwent abdominoperineal resection of a rectal adenocarcinoma, and left hepatic lobectomy for a single metastasis. He then received hepatic artery infusions of floxuridine. The tumor did not recur, but sclerosing cholangitis and liver failure developed which necessitated orthotopic liver transplantation. In the hilus of the native liver, obstructive arteriopathy and portal venopathy were found. These lesions probably had been caused by drug‐induced intravascular thrombosis.

Harold O. Conn, Lewis L. Levy – 1 February 1989 – A blind analysis of 56 EEGs with triphasic wave patterns was performed to determine the diagnostic specificity of individual electrographic features. EEG and clinical variables analyzed included longitudinal topography, phase lags, symmetry, background activity, reactivity, longitudinal bipolar phase reversal sites, responses to photic stimulation and mental status at the time of recording.

Michael A. Gerber, Swan N. Thung – 1 February 1989

David Westaby, Peter C. Hayes, Alexander E. S. Gimson, Rex J. Polson, Roger Williams – 1 February 1989 – In a prospective, randomized clinical trial, immediate injection sclerotherapy was compared with treatment by a combined infusion of vasopressin (0.4 unit per min) and nitroglycerin (40 to 400 μg per min) in 50 consecutive patients with 64 episodes of endoscopy‐proven active variceal hemorrhage. Control of bleeding was assessed over a 12‐hr period following entry into the trial.

Tsung‐Sheng Su, Wing‐Yiu Lui, Ling‐Huang Lin, Shou‐Hwa Han, Fang‐Ku P'eng – 1 February 1989 – The hepatitis B virus transcripts in human hepatoma and its adjacent nontumorous liver were examined with probes specific to hepatitis B virus surface antigen, core antigen, X region and pre‐S region. The study shows that the patterns of hepatitis B virus transcripts for tumorous tissue and the counterpart in nontumorous liver differ. In most of the tissues examined, the surface antigen gene is transcribed.

1 February 1989

Jay H. Lefkowitch – 1 February 1989 – The etiology of idiopathic portal hypertension (IPH) is not known. To obtain clues to the pathogenesis, an attempt was made to produce a hepatic lesion similar to that in IPH by repeated injections of aggregated killed non‐pathogenic E. coli directly into the portal vein. In the treated dogs, histology of the liver showed dense fibrosis in the portal tract and an aberrant vasculature around the portal area after 1 month. Portal pressure was elevated and middle‐to‐small‐sized portal branches were decreased in number as studied by portography.

Robert E. Vestal – 1 February 1989