Porphyria cutanea tarda and hepatocellular carcinoma: Correlations

Kunio Okuda – 1 September 1986 – In order to assess the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT), 83 patients (77 males, 6 females, mean age 57.4 years) were studied. Thirteen patients (15.7%) had HCC, all of whom were male and cirrhotics with a mean age of 58.5 years. HCC patients showed a statistically significant (P < 0.0005) longer evolution time (23 years since onset of the cutaneous disease) than patients without HCC (9.4 years), while the age of onset was similar in both groups.

Frequency and significance of antibody to double‐stranded DNA in chronic active hepatitis

James R. Wood, Albert J. Czaja, Sandra J. Beaver, Stephen Hall, William W. Ginsburg, David K. Kaufman, Harold Markowitz – 1 September 1986 – To assess the frequency and significance of immunoglobulin G antibody to double‐stranded DNA in chronic active hepatitis, 99 patients with severe disease were tested for the antibody by an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay of established sensitivity and specificity. Antibody was detected in 56 patients (57%) and occurred with similar frequency in patients with autoimmune (64%), idiopathic (46%) and type B (43%) disease.

Interactions between liver allografts and lymphocytotoxic alloantibodies in inbred rats

Didier Houssin, Blanche Bellon, Marie‐Dominique Brunaud, Jean Gugenheim, Abdellatif Settaf, Francesco Meriggi, Jean Emond – 1 September 1986 – Several clinical and experimental findings suggest that liver allografts are less sensitive than other organ allografts to lymphocytotoxic antibodies. In this experimental study in hypersensitized inbred rat recipients, rejection of liver allografts was delayed compared to that of heart allografts. Furthermore, there was a marked decrease in the level of cytotoxic antibodies after liver allografting but not after heart allografting in these animals.

Emergency portacaval anastomosis (EPCA): The long‐awaited trial

Harold O. Conn – 1 September 1986 – A prospective randomized trial was conducted in all comers with cirrhosis and bleeding varices comparing 1) emergency portacaval shunt (EPCS) performed within 8 hr of admission, with 2) emergency medical therapy (EMT) followed in 2–6 wks by elective portacaval shunt in survivors. All patients received identical supportive therapy initially, and the EMT group received vasopressin in continuous infusion and, if necessary, esophageal balloon tamponade to control varix bleeding.

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