1 March 1996

Norah A. Terrault, Connie Combs Holland, Linda Ferrell, Judith A. Hahn, John R. Lake, John P. Roberts, Nancy L. Ascher, Teresa L. Wright – 1 March 1996 – Reinfection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) after liver transplantation is nearly universal in patients not receiving immunoprophylaxis. Because reinfection reduces graft and patient survival, treatment of recurrent infection is important. Interferon alfa (IFN‐α) is an effective therapy for chronic hepatitis B infection in immunocompetent patients, but its efficacy in transplant recipients has not been established.

O Farges, F Saliba, H Farhamant, D Samuel, A Bismuth, M Reynes, H Bismuth – 1 February 1996 – A retrospective analysis was undertaken to determine if the incidence, timing, and severity of acute and chronic rejection were influenced by the primary disease necessitating transplantation. Of the 875 liver transplantations performed between 1984 and 1992, 768 were primary transplantations and 107 were retransplantations.

P J O'Connor, K W Southern, I M Bowler, H C Irving, P J Robinson, J M Littlewood – 1 February 1996 – This was a prospective open study that examined the quantitative and qualitative analysis of hepatobiliary scintigraphy (DISIDA) in detecting liver involvement in cystic fibrosis (CF).

S Zeuzem, J M Schmidt, J Lee, B Ruster, W K Roth – 1 February 1996 – In about 30% to 40% of patients with chronic hepatitis C, treatment with recombinant interferon alfa (r‐IFNα) causes a decrease of serum aminotransferases and hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA. The antiviral mechanism of interferon alfa (IFNα) in vivo is unknown. From serial measurements of serum HCV‐RNA concentrations following IFNα induced perturbation of the balance between virus production and clearance, we obtained kinetic information on the pretreatment steady‐state of HCV.

J Prieto, J R Yuste, O Beloqui, M P Civeira, J I Riezu, B Aguirre, B Sangro – 1 February 1996 – Antiphospholipid antibodies are a type of autoantibodies that have been implicated in the occurrence of thrombocytopenia and thrombotic events and have been described in autoimmune disorders and diverse viral diseases. In this study anticardiolipin antibodies (immunoglobulin G [IgG] isotype) were determined in serum from 100 patients with chronic hepatitis C and 52 healthy controls.

J Wu, H Soderbergh, K Karlsson, Å Danielsson – 1 February 1996 – The protective effect of S‐adenosyl‐L‐methionine (SAMe) on bromobenzene (BB)‐ or D‐galactosamine (GalN)‐induced damage to isolated rat hepatocytes and its effect on cellular glutathione (GSH) levels were investigated. SAMe at concentrations of 0.5 to 3.0 mmol/L significantly reduced lactate dehydrogenase leakage from cells exposed to 1.6 mmol/L BB (P < .05 to .001) during 2 hours' incubation.

Y Lin, R Havinga, H J Verkade, H Moshage, M J Slooff, R J Vonk, F Kuipers – 1 February 1996 – The existence of a relationship between bile acid and triacylglycerol metabolism in humans has been established, but the underlying mechanism and its physiological relevance have remained unclear. We have studied the effects of bile acids on the secretion of very‐low‐density lipoprotein (VLDL)‐associated triacylglycerol, using [3H]glycerol labeling technique, and apolipoprotein B (apoB) in human hepatocytes in primary culture.

C M Walton, G Y Wu, C A Petruff, S H Clark, A C Lichtler, C H Wu – 1 February 1996 – Type I collagen synthesis and deposition is generally indicative of irreversible damage in alcohol‐induced cirrhosis in humans. However, in rodents, ethanol alone does not readily cause hepatic fibrosis. To determine whether this is because of a lack of ethanol‐responsive elements, an artificial enhancer construct controlling rat type I collagen gene transcription was prepared in transgenic mice.

S Murakami, J F Bernardo, R A Branch, R Sabra – 1 February 1996 – This study was conducted to assess the role of adenosine in the peripheral vasodilation and sodium retention that occurs after partial portal vein ligation (PVL) in the rat. The experiment was performed on day 1 after surgery when transient maximal sodium retention developed and day 7 when rats returned to sodium balance. Hemodynamic studies were conducted under anesthesia in portal hypertensive rats with sodium retention and in sham‐operated controls.