Hyman J. Zimmerman, James H. Lewis, Kamal G. Ishak, Willis C. Maddrey – 1 March 1984 – Ticrynafen, a uricosuric diuretic, was withdrawn from clinical use in the United States in 1980 after having been implicated as the cause of a number of instances of serious hepatic injury. In this report, we analyze 340 cases of ticrynafen‐associated hepatic disease reported to the manufacturer from the time of initial marketing until shortly after the drug had been recalled. Jaundice was recorded in 246 of 287 patients with sufficient clinical information, and 25 (10.2%) of these icteric patients died.

Takeshi Okanoue, Isao Kondo, Thomas J. Ihrig, Samuel W. French – 1 March 1984 – In order to demonstrate the effect to the acute administration of ethanol and chlorpromazine (CPZ) on bile flow and transhepatic transport of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) into bile, male rats were administered either 5 gm per kg ethanol intragastrically (E‐rats) or 3 mg per kg CPZ intraperitoneally (CPZ rats). Control rats (C‐rats) received saline. Two hours after ethanol feeding or 90 min after CPZ injection HRP was injected into the portal vein, and bile samples were collected at 1 0‐min intervals for 2 hr.

Christian Beaubernard, Marie‐Louise Delorme, Pierre Opolon, Mlchele Boschat, Joelle Morin, Marie‐Plerre Oryszcyn, Dominique Franco – 1 March 1984 – The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of oral administration of branched‐chain amino acid (BCAA)‐enriched diets after portacaval shunt (PCS) in rats. Fifty‐one Sprague‐Dawley male rats (200 gm) underwent PCS and 55 a sham operation. Half of the animals received BCAA 142 mg per day through a gastric tube; the other half underwent a sham procedure.

Luc Bouwens, Marijke Baekeland, Eddie Wisse – 1 March 1984 – Partial hepatectomy and a single intravenous injection of zymosan were used to provoke expansion of the Kupffer cell population in rat liver. The number of Kupffer cells per microscopic field increased exponentially for 4 to 5 days after either stimulation. During this exponential growth phase, high mitotic activity of Kupffer cells was observed.

William Allan Tisdale – 1 March 1984

Bertram I. Cohen, Anil K. Singhal, Richard J. Stenger, Patricia May‐Donath, Judith Finver‐Sadowsky, Charles K. Mcsherry, Erwin H. Mosbach – 1 March 1984 – The prevention of cholesterol cholelithiasis by dietary chenodeoxycholic and ursodeoxycholic acids was studied in the male prairie dog (Cynotttys ludovicianus). Gallstones were induced by administration of a semisynthetic diet containing 0.4% cholesterol for a period of 8 weeks. Groups of 5 or 6 animals received the lithogenic diet with added chenodeoxycholic or ursodeoxycholic acid (0.03% “low dose” or 0.06% “high dose”).

Gary C. Kanel, Robert L. Peters – 1 March 1984 – The hepatorenal syndrome, a primary cause of death from acute and chronic liver disease, consists of a functional renal failure whereby examination of the kidney has previously shown no distinct or specific morphologic change. We describe an unusual renal lesion consisting of the reflux of proximal convoluted tubular epithelium into Bowman's space. An autopsy series shows this glomerular change to be present in 71.4% of cases with the hepatorenal syndrome, while only present in 0 to 27.3% in other autopsy categories (p < 0.001).

Gerald Y. Minuk, John Vergalla, Peter Ferenci, E. Anthony Jones – 1 March 1984 – γ‐Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a potent inhibitory neurotransmitter which is synthesized by the enteric bacterial flora and delivered into portal venous blood. To determine whether the liver is likely to play an important role in regulating serum GABA levels, the uptake and metabolism of [3H]GABA by three populations of cells isolated from rat liver were studied. GABA was specifically taken up by hepatocytes but not by endothelial or Kupffer cells.

1 March 1984

Charles S. Davidson – 1 March 1984