Jaime Gosálvez, Elena Rodríguez‐Iñigo, José L. Ramiro‐Díaz, Javier Bartolomé, José F. Tomás, Horacio Oliva, Vicente Carreño – 30 December 2003 – Although several reports concerning the detection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) by in situ hybridization have been published, there are no data concerning the relative viral load in infected hepatocytes or about its relation with serum viremia levels. To address these issues, liver biopsies from 10 patients with chronic hepatitis C were analyzed by in situ hybridization and digital image analysis of hybridization signals.

Shigeru Yoshioka, Masaru Miyazaki, Hiroaki Shimizu, Hiroshi Ito, Koji Nakagawa, Satoshi Ambiru, Nobuyuki Nakajima, Yasuichiro Fukuda – 30 December 2003 – This study was designed to evaluate the use of hepatic venous hemoglobin oxygen saturation (Shvo2) as an indicator of hepatic oxygen supply‐demand relation and also regenerative status of the liver after partial hepatectomy in rats. We assessed the Shvo2 levels for 7 days, as well as hepatic hemodynamics, oxygen consumption, DNA synthesis and energy charge of the remnant liver for 3 days after 50% hepatectomy or sham operation.

Gladys Tapia, Pilar Troncoso, Monica Galleano, Virginia Fernandez, Susana Puntarulo, Luis A. Videla – 30 December 2003 – This study tested the hypothesis that acute iron overload (500 mg/kg) alters Kupffer cell functioning by promoting free radical reactions associated with the respiratory burst of liver macrophages, assessed in the isolated perfused rat liver under conditions of Kupffer cell stimulation by carbon infusion and inactivation by gadolinium chloride pretreatment.

Tousif Pasha, Sherine Gabriel, Terry Therneau, E. Rolland Dickson, Keith D. Lindor – 30 December 2003 – The risk of a major complication from “blind” percutaneous liver biopsy is reported to be in the range of 0.24% to 3.8%. In a recent randomized trial, patients whose liver biopsies were performed with ultrasonography had a significant reduction in complications requiring hospitalization compared with patients without ultrasound‐guided biopsies (0.5% vs. 2.2%, P < .05).

John Goulis, Anastasios Armonis, David Patch, Caroline Sabin, Lynda Greenslade, Andrew K. Burroughs – 30 December 2003 – Bacterial infection is frequently diagnosed in cirrhotic patients with variceal hemorrhage. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of failure to control bleeding in cirrhotic patients during the first 5 days after the episode of variceal bleeding in relation to the diagnosis of bacterial infection and use of antibiotics. One hundred seventy‐seven consecutive admissions for gastrointestinal bleeding in 151 patients were evaluated prospectively.

Hervé Zylberberg, Stanislas Pol, Bertrand Nalpas, Christian Bréchot, Pierre Berthelot – 30 December 2003

Mirjam M. P. Zegers, Kristien J. M. Zaal, Dick Hoekstra – 30 December 2003 – A photoreactive sphingolipid precursor was used to investigate the potential involvement of protein‐lipid interactions that may convey specificity to sphingolipid transport in the human hepatoma cell line, HepG2. A 125I‐labeled, photoreactive ceramide, 125I‐N3 ‐Cer, was incubated with the cells and became incorporated into two sphingolipid products.

Jean‐Pierre Zarski, Marianne Maynard‐Muet, Suzanne Chousterman, Maryline Baud, Raphaëlle Barnoud, Armand Abergel, Yannick Bacq, Jean‐Marc Combis, Xavier Causse, Albert Tran, Frédéric Oberti, Anne Minello, Solange Bresson‐Hadni, François Bailly, Jean‐Jacques Raabe, Vincent Leroy, Lynda Hamici, Tariq Hicham, Marie‐France St Marc Girardin – 30 December 2003 – The purpose of this study is to compare a combination of interferon (IFN)‐α2 a (Roferon) + Tenoxicam with IFN‐α2 a alone in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C.

J R Craig – 30 December 2003

Y Ichiki, S Shimoda, H Hara, H Shigematsu, M Nakamura, K Hayashida, H Ishibashi, Y Niho – 30 December 2003 – T‐cell‐mediated autoimmune mechanisms are considered to be involved in the pathogenesis of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). In the previous study, we identified the immunodominant T‐cell epitope on the E2 component of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC‐E2) in patients with PBC who have HLA‐DRB4*0101.