John P. McVicar, Kris V. Kowdley, Carlos E. Bacchi, Darlene Barr, Christopher L. Marsh, James D. Perkins, Robert L. Carithers – 1 March 1996 – Focal rejection involves less than 20% of portal tracts in liver allograft biopsy results. The clinical significance of “focal” rejection on protocol liver biopsy results is unknown. The purpose of this study was to prospectively determine the incidence of clinically significant rejection in patients with focal rejection after orthotopic liver transplantation. Biopsy specimens from 165 consecutive transplantations in 149 patients were analyzed.

M Iwai, T Shimazu – 1 March 1996 – Effects of electrical stimulation of the hepatic nerves on acute liver damage were examined using isolated rat liver perfused in situ, 24 hours after intraperitoneal injection with D‐galactosamine (800 mg/kg). The leakage of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) from the liver was used as markers of acute liver damage.

M Ott, S G Gupta – 1 March 1996

Y Haruna, K Saito, S Spaulding, M A Nalesnik, M A Gerber – 1 March 1996 – Intermediate filament proteins have been reported to be expressed in a cell lineage‐specific manner during morphogenesis. We studied the expression of cytokeratin (CK)14, CK19, and vimentin and of the hepatocyte‐specific HepPar1 antigen during the development of human liver.

Jean Vix, Philippe Compagnon, Jean‐Paul Beller, Daniel Jaeck, Philippe Wolf, Karim Boudjema – 1 March 1996 – The introduction of University of Wisconsin solution has made liver transplantation a semi‐elective procedure. However, many studies have suggested that cold storage must not exceed 12 hours to avoid ischemic‐type biliary complications, to reduce the incidence of primary nonfunction and to improve graft and patient survival. The aim of this study was to compare the function of livers transplanted as soon as possible after the liver was harvested and those preserved overnight.

L Alric, E Pinelli, G Carrera, J P Vinel, M Beraud, M Duffaut, J P Pascal, B Pipy – 1 March 1996 – The aim of the present study was to assess the mechanism of 5‐lipoxygenase metabolites (LT) secretion by peritoneal macrophages in rats wih CC14 induced cirrhosis. After stimulation with calcium ionophore A23187 or opsonized zymosan, [3H] arachidonic acid labeled macrophages from cirrhotic rats presented a significantly greater secretion of LT than macrophages from healthy controls.

Robert G. Gish, Nancy L. Ascher – 1 March 1996

Stephen H. Caldwell, Michael Sue, James H. Bowden, Rolland C. Dickson, Carolyn J. Driscoll, Paul Yeaton, William C. Stevenson, Michael B. Ishitani, Christopher S. McCullough, Timothy L. Pruett, Mark A. Lovell – 1 March 1996 – Recurrence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) after liver transplantation is common and is associated with high blood levels of HCV RNA. Higher blood levels of HCV may promote body fluid expression of the virus. We tested 152 body fluid specimens from 33 patients with chronic hepatitis C, 21 of whom had undergone prior liver transplantation.

Kenneth L. Croutch, Roy L. Gordon, Ernest J. Ring, Robert K. Kerlan, Jeanne M. Laberge, John P. Roberts – 1 March 1996 – Transcatheter arterial embolization is widely used to treat life‐threatening iatrogenic hemobilia, although in the transplanted liver its use has only been reported in two cases. To evaluate more fully whether transcatheter embolization is safe and effective in transplant recipients, we retrospectively reviewed eight cases of severe hemobilia. These occurred after 128 percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage procedures performed during a 6‐year period.

Martin Hertl, Todd K. Howard, Jeffrey A. Lowell, Surendra Shenoy, P. Robert C. Harvey, Steven M. Strasberg – 1 March 1996 – Liver core temperature during organ procurement, storage, and rewarming has not been reported in human orthotopic liver transplantations (OLT). We have shown in the rat that optimal temperature for liver storage is not 4°C but 0°C to 1°C. Therefore, a study was undertaken in humans and in pigs to determine the pattern of temperature change during OLT.