Stefaan Keppens, Ann Vandekerckhove, Han Moshage, Sing Hiem Yap, Raymond Aerts, Henri de Wulf – 1 April 1993 – Hepatocytes were isolated from human liver tissue by a two‐step perfusion technique. They were treated with vasopressin, angiotensin, ATP and phenylephrine, which are known to be Ca2+‐mediated glycogenolytic agents in rat liver tissue, and as a control, they were treated with the cyclic AMP–mediated hormones glucagon and isoproterenol. All agonists induce a timedependent activation of glycogen phosphorytase.

David W. A. Beno, Ronald Espinal, Brian M. Edelstein, Bernard H. Davis – 1 April 1993 – Recent studies suggest that prostaglandin E may have the ability to suppress cytokine responsiveness. We examined the effects of prostaglandin E administration on several parameters of acute and chronic liver injury induced by bile duct ligation. Enisoprost, a prostaglandin E1 analog, was found to suppress early hepatic and Ito cell type I collagen gene expression without‐diminishing the induction of the fibrogenic cytokine transforming growth factor‐β.

Paul B. Watkins – 1 April 1993 – Omeprazole has been shown to induce cytochrome P450IA1 and P450IA2 activity in vitro. To reflect cytochrome P450IA2 (CYPIA2) activity in vivo, the 13C‐[N‐3‐methyl]‐caffeine breath test was conducted in 18 volunteers: 12 extensive metabolizers, one intermediate metabolizer, and five poor metabolizers of S‐mephenytoin. Breath tests were performed before treatment with an oral dose of 40 mg omeprazole, on the seventh day of treatment, and after a 7‐day washout period.

Michael D. Apstein – 1 April 1993

Tetsuo Ohta, Takukazu Nagakawa, Toshiya Takeda, Luis Fonseca, Masahiro Kanno, Kazuhiro Mori, Masato Kayahara, Keiichi Ueno, Itsuo Miyazaki, Tadashi Terada – 1 April 1993 – Apolipoprotein A‐1 is known to be one of inhibiting factors of cholesterol nucleation in bile, and decreased activity of apolipoprotein A‐1 is considered to predispose cholesterol‐supersaturated bile to formation of cholesterol crystals.

John J. Alam, Irving H. Fox – 1 April 1993

Elliot Alpert – 1 April 1993

Charles L. Mendenhall, Thomas E. Moritz, Gary A. Roselle, Timothy R. Morgan, Bernard A. Nemchausky, Carlo H. Tamburro, Eugene R. Schiff, Craig J. McClain, Luis S. Marsano, John I. Allen, Arun Samanta, Robert E. Weesner, William Henderson, Peter Gartside, Thomas S. Chen, Samuel W. French, Antonio Chedid, Veterans affairs cooperative study group 275 – 1 April 1993 – A Veterans Affairs cooperative study involving 273 male patients was performed to evaluate efficacy of oxandrolone in combination with an enteral food supplement in severe alcoholic hepatitis.

Ching‐Lung Lai, Johnson Y. N. Lau, Pui‐Chee Wu, Henry Ngan, Hau‐Tim Chung, Stuart J. Mitchell, Timothy J. Corbett, Anthony W. C. Chow, Hsiang‐Ju Lin – 1 March 1993 – To evaluate the clinical efficacy of interferon‐α in hepatocellular carcinoma, 71 adult Chinese patients with histologically proven inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma were randomized to receive recombinant interferon‐α2a (50 × 106 IU/m2) intramuscularly three times a week (n = 35) or no antitumor therapy (n = 36).

Dirk De Craemer, Marina Pauwels, Frank Roels – 1 March 1993 – Hepatocellular peroxisomes in 32 patients with cirrhosis were studied by means of catalase cytochemical and morphometric analysis. Seven normal human livers were used as controls. The severity of the cirrhosis was determined with the Child‐Turcotte criteria. Under the light microscope, a decrease in catalase staining was observed in 12 livers. Staining showed a weak inverse correlation with severity of the cirrhotic process. Peroxisomes revealed a perinuclear configuration in 24 patients.