1 September 1994

Antoni Castells, Joan Saló, Ramon Planas, Juan Carlos Quer, Angels Ginès, Jaume Boix, Pere Ginès, Miquel Angel Gassull, Josep Terés, Vicente Arroyo, Joan Rodés – 1 September 1994 – Despite the efficacy of shunt surgery in the treatment of variceal bleeding, less effective nonoperative therapies are being substituted because surgical shunt does not modify survival and increases hepatic encephalopathy. However, the real impact of shunt surgery on the natural history of ascites and its complications has not been established.

Pamela Hartigan, The Veterans Affairs Cooperative Variceal Sclerotherapy Group – 1 September 1994 – Sclerotherapy and sham‐sclerotherapy were compared in male alcoholic patients with cirrhosis and bleeding esophageal varices. The prospective, singleblind, randomized clinical trial of 5 yr duration entered 253 male alcoholic patients at 12 Veterans Affairs medical centers. Patients were either actively bleeding from esophageal varices at randomization or they had a history of such bleeding.

Andrea Crosignani, Pier Maria Battezzati, Walter Albisetti, Giuseppe Grandinetti, Luca Pietrogrande, Arianna Biffi, Massimo Zuin, Mauro Podda – 1 September 1994 – No satisfactory treatment is available for metabolic bone disease associated with primary biliary cirrhosis. On the basis of the similarities to postmenopausal osteoporosis, the rationale exists for calcitonin to be tested in clinical studies in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis—associated osteoporosis.

Lorenz Theilmann, Peter Sauer, Thomas Roeren, Gerd Otto, Joachim C. Arnold, Gerd Noeldge, Goetz Richter, Adolf Stiehl – 1 September 1994 – Stenosis or occlusion of the transjugular intrahepatic portal‐systemic stent shunt may be initiated by aggregation and activation of thrombocytes on the surface of the metallic stent material. To find effective prevention of this event, we conducted a controlled trial administering acetylsalicylic acid for 3 mo. Forty‐four patients (8 women and 36 men) with portal hypertension were included in this study.

Agustin Albillos, Jose Luis Lledó, Rafael Bañares, Irma Rossi, Jerónimo Iborra, Jose Luis Calleja, Aurelio Garrido, Pedro Escartin, Jaime Bosch – 1 September 1994 – This study was aimed at investigating whether the blockade of α1‐adrenergic receptors could reduce portal pressure in cirrhosis. Splanchnic and systemic hemodynamics were measured in 12 cirrhotic patients with esophageal varices at baseline and 1 hr after oral administration of 2 mg of prazosin (acute study). Measurements were repeated in 10 of these 12 patients after a 3‐mo course of 5 mg/12 hr of prazosin (long‐term study).

Tsann‐Long Hwang, Ying‐Tung Lau, Shu‐Fang Huang, Miin‐Fu Chen, Maw‐Shung Liu – 1 September 1994 – We studied changes in α1‐adrenergic receptors in human liver plasma membranes during intraabdominal sepsis using [3H]prazosin as a radioligand. Human liver tissues were obtained from nonseptic patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery (control group) and from patients with sepsis requiring laparotomy as a therapeutic measure (septic group).

Ana M. García, M. Elena Martín, Alberto Alcázar, Juan L. Fando, A. M. Salinas – 1 September 1994 – We studied the decline in protein synthesis in the developing liver in suckling rats (4 to 10 days) and adult rats (2 mo). The rate of protein synthesis was measured with a cell‐free system and compared with the activity of two initiation factors, eukaryotic initiation factor‐2 and eukaryotic initiation factor‐2B, and with casein kinase II, which phosphorylates both factors in vitro.

Cornelis J. F. Van Noorden, Ilse M. C. Vogels, Jan James – 1 September 1994 – To evaluate changes in metabolic heterogeneity in rat liver lobules after partial hepatectomy, we measured parameters of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism cytophotometrically in periportal and pericentral zones of livers of mature female and male rats. Glycogen content was shown to be always higher in pericentral zones than in periportal zones.

Sanghoon Cha, Patrick S. C. Leung, Ross L. Coppel, Judy Van De Water, Aftab A. Ansari, M. Eric Gershwin – 1 September 1994 – The polyclonal nature of antimitochondrial autoantibodies and the limited success of generating human monoclonal antibodies have made analysis of fine specificity and antibody heterogeneity difficult to define. The major autoantigen of primary biliary cirrhosis is the E2 component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase pathway (PDC‐E2).