Robert A. Levine – 1 July 1988 – 16,16 Dimethyl prostaglandin E2 (dmPGE2), a known cytoprotective agent, was examined for its ability to alter the course of fulminant hepatitis in an experimental model of fulminant viral hepatitis, murine hepatitis virus type 3 (MHV‐3). Fully susceptible BALB/cJ mice, infected with 100 50% lethal doses (LD50) of MHV‐3 developed histologic and biochemical evidence of fulminant hepatitis, as evidenced by massive hepatic necrosis with hypoglycemia, metabolic acidosis, and a markedly elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (mean, 1,402 ± 619 IU/liter).

Anthony J. Demetris, Bernd H. Markus, Carlos Esquivel, David H. Van Thiel, Susan Saidman, Robert Gordon, Leonard Makowka, Gregory D. Sysyn, Thomas E. Starzl – 1 July 1988 – A retrospective histopathologic review of all pathologic specimens from 394 adult liver transplant patients was undertaken with clinical correlation to determine if primary biliary cirrhosis has affected the posttrans‐plant course compared to all other indications for liver transplantation and if recurrent primary biliary cirrhosis has occurred after liver transplantation.

Francisco Lozano, Albert Parés, Luis Borche, Montserrat Plana, Teresa Gallart, Joan Rodés, Jordi Vives – 1 July 1988 – An antinuclear immunofluorescence pattern displaying a thin ring confined to the nuclear envelope was assessed in sera from 38 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis and in sera from a control group of 277 patients with other antinuclear antibody‐positive diseases. This rim‐like antinuclear reactivity was present in sera from 20 primary biliary cirrhosis patients (52.6%) but in only two patients from the control group (0.7%) (p < 0.001).

Bruno Clément, Pierre‐Yves Rescan, Georges Baffet, Olivier Loréal, Dominique Lehry, Jean‐Pierre Campion, André Guillouzo – 1 July 1988 – Previous studies have shown that laminin is present in basement membranes in normal liver but failed to identify cellular sources. We have investigated the extracellular and intracellular distribution of laminin in normal rat and human liver, in fibrotic human liver and in primary hepatocyte cultures from both species by light and electron microscopy using the indirect immunoperoxidase technique.

Anna S. F. Lok, Ching‐Lung Lai, Pui‐Chee Wu – 1 July 1988 – Of 1,801 Chinese subjects, age 1 to 90 years, screened for hepatitis B surface antigen and antibody (HBsAg, anti‐HBs) and antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti‐HBc), 214 (11.9%) had an isolated, positive anti‐HBc result; anti‐HBc was reproducibly present in the initial sera in only 66% and persisted after an interval of 2 weeks to 3 months in only 73%. There was a strong correlation between the rates of reproducibility and persistence of isolated anti‐HBc and the initial anti‐HBc titers.

Herbert L. Bonkovsky – 1 July 1988

Margo A. Denke, Scott M. Grundy – 1 July 1988 – Bile acid binding resins are indicated for treatment of elevated plasma low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations. In normoglyceridemic patients, plasma concentrations of low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol and total cholesterol are closely linked, and for this reason resin treatment of elevated total cholesterol levels in these patients is rational and warranted. Hypertriglyceridemic patients may also have elevated total cholesterol concentrations, and several such patients have been treated with resin.

Russell H. Wiesner, Patricia Grambsch, Nicholas F. Larusso, E. Rolland Dickson – 1 July 1988 – The clinicopathologic features and natural history of primary sclerosing cholangitis were reviewed in 53 patients followed at the Yale Liver Center during the past 30 yr. At presentation, the mean age of patients was 46 yr, and the male to female ratio was 1.4:1. Biliary sclerosis was limited to the intrahepatic ductal system in 21% of the patients.

The Rome Group for Epidemiology and Prevention of Cholelithiasis (GREPCO) – 1 July 1988 – The epidemiological associations of gallstone disease were evaluated in a population of 2,325 civil servants (1,244 men and 1,081 women) in Rome, Italy, which was enrolled in a cross‐sectional survey on cholelithiasis. Participants were screened for the presence of gallstones by gallbladder ultrasonography, completed a questionnaire on family and personal history and underwent a physical examination and blood chemistry.

Gilbert Reibnegger, Ingeborg Auhuber, Dietmar Fuchs, Arno Hausen, Gert Judmaier, Christian Prior, Ernst R. Werner, Helmut Wachter – 1 July 1988 – Elevated neopterin levels in blood or urine have been shown to be a marker for the activation of cell‐mediated immunity in vitro and in vivo.