Hypothesis: Metabolic Activity of the Colonic Bacteria Influences Organ Injury from Ethanol

Michael D. Levitt, William Doizaki, Allen S. Levine – 1 September 1982 – Incubation of human fecal homogenates with ethanol (0.078 gm per dl) resulted in accumulation of increased quantities of higher alcohols and other unidentified metabolites when compared with homogenates incubated without ethanol. Studies in rats demonstrated nearly perfect equilibration between blood and colonic luminal ethanol suggesting that the colonic flora in alcoholics is chronically exposed to ethanol concentrations in the range used in the homogenate experiments.

Rosette Inhibitory Factor: T‐Lymphocyte Subpopulation Specificity and Potential Immunoregulatory Role in Hepatitis B Virus Infection

Gary Sanders, Robert P. Perrillo – 1 September 1982 – We have observed the disappearance of rosette inhibitory factor (RIF) from the serum of 19 patients with acute hepatitis B virus infection. This occurred at a time coinciding with the detection of anti‐HBs. In addition, levels of RIF activity were significantly greater (p < 0.001) in 35 HBsAg carriers who lacked anti‐HBs when compared to 15 carriers who regularly demonstrated this antibody. In all instances, RIF effect was partial affecting some, but not all, T‐lymphocytes from forming erythrocyte rosettes.

Briefly Noted. Transmembrane Signaling. Proceedings of the ICN‐UCLA Symposium, Keystone, Colorado, February 26‐March 3,1978. Edited by M. Bitensky, R. J. Collier, D. F. Steiner, and C. F. Fox. New York: Liss, 1979. $94.00.

Liver Transplantation in Adults

David H. Van Thiel, Robert R. Schade, Thomas E. Starzl, Shunzaburo Iwatsuki, Byers W. , Shaw Jr ., Judith S. Gavaler, Marcus Dugas – 1 September 1982 – Human liver transplantation has been possible since 1967. We report our experience in 32 adult patients who received liver transplants at the University of Pittsburgh over a 16‐month period. Survival data, method utilized for patient selection, costs, and morbidity of the procedure are discussed.

The Role of Hepatocyte Enlargement in Hepatic Pressure in Cirrhotic and Noncirrhotic Alcoholic Liver Disease

Laurence M. Blendis, Hector Orrego, Ian R. Crossley, Joan E. Blake, Alan Medline, Yedy Israel – 1 September 1982 – The relationship between hepatocyte enlargement and intrahepatic and portal pressures was studied in a group of 163 patients with alcoholic liver disease presenting liver biopsy abnormalities, including 91 cirrhotics. For the complete group, hepatocyte surface areas were significantly correlated (r = 0.73, p < 0.0001) with pressure. Cirrhotics as a group had a mean average pressure of 20.4 ± 0.9 mm Hg, while that for noncirrhotics was 11.7 ± 0.8 mm Hg (p < 0.0001).

Visual Evoked Potentials in Encephalopathy Induced by Galactosamine, Ammonia, Dimethyldisulfide, and Octanoic Acid

Maria L. Zeneroli, Ezio Ventura, Mario Baraldi, Alessandro Penne, Elena Messori, Leslie Zieve – 1 September 1982 – Visual evoked potentials were utilized to examine the neuronal transmission changes provoked by galactosamine‐induced hepatic encephalopathy and by administration in normal animals of toxins presumably involved in the pathogenesis of hepatic encepalopathy.

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