P. Kurki, A. Miettinen, M. Salaspuro, I. Virtanen, S. Stenman – 1 January 1983 – Antibodies to cytoplasmic microfilaments, intermediate filaments (vimentin filaments), and microtubules which comprise the cytoskeleton of the cell were assayed in sera from 23 patients with HBsAg‐negative chronic active hepatitis and 1 with HBsAg‐positive chronic active hepatitis, 15 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, 20 patients with alcoholic liver disease, and 32 healthy controls.

Peter Banninger, Josef Altorfer, Gert G. Frösner, Mauro Pirovino, Fred Gudat, Leonardo Bianchi, Peter J. Grob, Martin Schmid – 1 January 1983 – Anti‐HBc IgM was determined by a modified radioimmunoassay (RIA) in 35 patients with acute hepatitis B, 35 patients with chronic hepatitis B (7 with chronic persistent, and 28 with chronic active hepatitis), 157 HBsAg positive blood donors, and in 143 HBsAg negative but anti‐HBc positive donors. The results of the RIA test were compared with those obtained by an ELISA technique.

1 January 1983

Rolf Teschke, Fernando Moreno, Edgar Heinen, Jorg Herrmann, Hans‐Ludwig Kruskemper, Georg Strohmeyer – 1 January 1983 – To study the effect of chronic alcohol consumption on hepatic levels of thyroid hormones, female Sprague‐Dawley rats (n = 24) were pair‐fed nutritionally adequate liquid diets containing either ethanol (36% of total calories) or isocaloric carbohydrates for 21 days. Compared to controls, chronic alcohol consumption failed to result in a significant change of hepatic thyroid hormone levels (thyroxine: 14.7 ± 1.81 ng per gm of liver wet weight vs.

Yukihito Minato, Yasushi Hasumura, Jugoro Takeuchi – 1 January 1983 – Liver biopsy samples from 40 chronic alcoholic patients, including 9 with minimal changes of the liver, 6 with mild hepatic fibrosis, 14 with moderate fibrosis, and 11 with severe fibrosis (cirrhosis) were studied by electron microscopy to assess fibrogenesis in the Disse space and the role of fat‐storing cells in this process. In the Disse space of normal liver, collagen fibers are few, and while lipid droplets containing fat‐storing cells exist, their rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) is inconspicuous.

Robert L. Peters – 1 January 1983

Norman G. Levinsky – 1 January 1983

J. Michael Henderson, Shakir Z. Ibrahim, William J. Millikan, Michael Santi, W. Dean Warren – 1 January 1983 – Cimetidine has been shown to reduce liver blood flow, as measured by indocyanine green clearance, in normal subjects. Concern over the potential deleterious effects of such reduction in cirrhosis led to the measurement of blood flow in 14 cirrhotics receiving oral or intravenous cimetidine. Liver blood flow was measured by the clearance of galactose at steady state during infusion of 40 mg per min.

Sherry S. Ansher, Patrick Dolan, Ernest Bueding – 1 January 1983 – Administration of tert‐butyl‐4‐hydroxyanisole or of two dithiolthiones to female CD‐I mice protected against the acute toxic effects of two hepatotoxic agents, acetaminophen and carbon tetrachloride. Reduced mortality of mice was observed following pretreatment with tert‐butyl‐4‐hydroxyanisole or dithiolthiones. Pretreatment reduced or prevented hepatic glutathione depletion produced by these two hepatotoxic agents.

Henry C. Bodenheimer, Fenton Schaffner, Salvatore Vernace, Shalom Z. Hirschman, Judith D. Goldberg, Thomas Chalmers – 1 January 1983 – Several drugs which react with DNA decrease hepatitis B viral (HBV) DNA polymerase activity in vitro. Because such an alteration of viral replication, if produced in patients with hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)‐positive chronic hepatitis, may lead to elimination of viral infection, we conducted a controlled trial of the use of the intercalating agent, quinacrine hydrochloride, in treatment of HBsAg‐positive chronic hepatitis.