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.

Beatriz Gonzalez‐Flecha, Claudia Reides, Juan C. Cutrin, Susana F. Llesuy, Alberto Boveris – 1 October 1993 – In this article the spontaneous chemiluminescence and the steady‐state concentration of hydrogen peroxide were determined in rat liver as indicators of oxidative stress in the tissue. Hydroperoxide‐initiated chemiluminescence and the activity of antioxidant enzymes (catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase) were also measured to evaluate antioxidant defenses and serum activity of lactate dehydrogenase and aspartate aminotransferase.

Julio Martin, Orencio Bosch, Gloria Moraleda, Javier Bartolome, Juan Antonio Quiroga, Vicente Carreño – 1 October 1993 – Recombinant human granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor is being used to improve the immunological function of patients with various diseases and to ameliorate hematological disorders.

Ching‐Lung Lai, Benjamin Chun‐Yu Wong, Eng‐Kiong Yeoh, Wai‐Ling Lim, Wai‐Kwan Chang, Hsiang‐Ju Lin – 1 October 1993 – In a prospective randomized trial, 318 children aged between 3 mo and 11 yr who were negative for all hepatitis B markers were randomized to receive two 5‐μg doses of hepatitis B recombinant DNA yeast vaccine at 0 and 1 mo (group 1), three 5‐μg doses of hepatitis B recombinant DNA yeast vaccine at 0, 1 and 6 mo (group 2) or three 10‐μg doses of plasma‐derived hepatitis B vaccine (group 3).

Charles H. Halsted, Jesús Villanueva, Carol J. Chandler, Boris Ruebner, Robert J. Munn, Seppo Parkkila, Onni Niemelä – 1 October 1993 – We established a new animal model of alcoholic liver disease in the micropig, a species that consumes ethanol voluntarily in the diet. Ten micropigs were pair‐fed diets containing 40% of calories as ethanol or cornstarch with identical amounts of fat, protein and micronutrients for 12 mo. Liver histopathology in the ethanol‐fed pigs included steatonecrosis in all five and interstitial and perivenous fibrosis in three.

Toshiyuki Kitai, Akira Tanaka, Atsuo Tokuka, Koichi Tanaka, Yoshio Yamaoka, Kazue Ozawa, Konomu Hirao – 1 October 1993 – To quantify the changes in oxygen saturation of hemoglobin in the liver in hypoxia and liver transplantation, we applied a novel method using near‐infrared spectroscopy. Instead of the conventional two‐wavelength method, we obtained near‐infrared data from a wide spectral range of 700 nm to 1,000 nm with continuous‐wave spectroscopy.

1 October 1993