1 October 1993

Hartmut Rieder, Thomas Armbrust, Karl‐Hermann Meyer zum Büschenfelde, Giuliano Ramadori – 1 October 1993 – Transforming growth factor‐βH1 is an important cytokine in the pathophysiology of liver fibrosis, stimulating the production of extracellular matrix. Whether this cytokine can also control the degradation of matrix proteins in liver cells has not been investigated.

Jackie L. Martin, J. Gerald Kenna, Brian M. Martin, David Thomassen, George F. Reed, Lance R. Pohl – 1 October 1993 – Clinical and laboratory evidence suggests that the fulminant liver failure sometimes associated with the inhalation anesthetic halothane may be an immunemediated toxicity. Most importantly, the vast majority of patients with a clinical diagnosis of halothane hepatitis have serum antibodies, which react with one or more specific liver microsomal proteins that have been covalently altered by the trifluoroacetyl chloride metabolite of halothane.

Paulette Bioulac‐Sage, Françoise Parrot‐Roulaud, Jean Pierre Mazat, Thierry Lamireau, Michelle Coquet, Boris Sandler, Jean Louis Demarquez, Valérie Cormier, Arnold Munnich, Mireille Carré, Charles Balabaud – 1 October 1993 – Mitochondrial cytopathies are multisystemic disorders of extremely variable expression due to a deficiency in oxidative phosphorylation. Cases have recently been reported in which fatal liver failure with neonatal onset was the major clinical and biochemical syndrome.

Christopher P. Day, Oliver F. W. James, Ashley St. J. M. Brown, Mark K. Bennett, Ian N. Fleming, Stephen J. Yeaman – 1 October 1993 – Increased esterification of fatty acids to triglyceride is common to most of the mechanisms proposed to explain the causation of alcoholic fatty liver. However, it is unclear whether this is caused by increased substrate supply or whether direct stimulation of the enzymes of the esterification pathway occurs after excessive alcohol intake.

1 October 1993

Joanne K. Linevsky – 1 October 1993

Kenneth C. Trimble, Anne M. Molloy, John M. Scot, Donald G. Weir – 1 October 1993 – Deficiency of choline and methionine produces hepatic steatosis similar to that seen with ethanol, and supplementation with these lipotropes can prevent ethanol‐induced fatty liver. These effects are thought to occur through alterations in membrane phospholipid metabolism, but the mechanism whereby this occurs and the precise nature of the changes brought about by ethanol in the interactions of choline and methionine metabolism remain unclear.

Yoshimasa Kondo, Katsuhiko Tsukada, Toshihiko Takeuchi, Takehiro Mitsui, Keiko Iwano, Kazuo Masuko, Tomobumi Itoh, Hajime Tokita, Hiroaki Okamoto, Fumio Tsuda, Yuzo Miyakawa, Makoto Mayumi – 1 October 1993 – An outbreak of hepatitis B virus infection occurred in a nursing facility; it involved 31 patients with sequelae of cerebral vascular accidents (15 men and 16 women; mean age, 77.4 ± 9.3 yr). HBsAg disappeared within 6 mo in 9 patients and persisted during an observation period of more than 6 mo in 13; the remaining 9 patients were lost to follow‐up while they carried HBsAg.

James M. Crawford, Aleta R. Crawford, Deborah C. J. Strahs – 1 October 1993 – Studies with taurine‐conjugated bile salts have demonstrated two pathways for hepatocellular delivery of bile salts to bile: a cytosolic, microtubule‐independent pathway and a membrane‐based, microtubule‐dependent pathway. However, a significant portion of circulating bile salts may be unconjugated. To determine whether free bile salts utilize similar pathways, we examined the effect of colchicine on the biliary excretion of intravenously administered cholic acid and taurocholate in intact rats.