Philippe Sogni, Richard Moreau, Masaru Ohsuga, Stephane Cailmail, Frederic Oberti, Antoine Hadengue, Eric Pussard, Didier Lebrec – 1 October 1992 – Because it has been hypothesized that the hyperkinetic circulation in portal hypertension is the result of increased synthesis of nitric oxide, we compared the hemodynamic effects of nitric oxide synthesis—specific agonist (L‐arginine) and antagonist between normal and cirrhotic conscious rats. The dose‐response curves showed that L‐arginine significantly decreased arterial pressure and increased heart rate.

Paul D. Berk – 1 September 1992

Tian‐Jun Huang, Jayanta Roy Chowdhury, Pulak Lahiri, Purna C. Yerneni, Vasudeva R. Bommineni, Irwin M. Arias, Namita Roy Chowdhury – 1 September 1992 – Hepatic bilirubin excretion requires UDP‐glucuronosyltransferase–mediated glucuronidation. Patients with type I Crigler‐Najjar syndrome and mutant rats (Gunn strain) inherit deficiency of UDP‐glucuronyltransferase activity toward bilirubin as an autosomal recessive trait and, as a result, exhibit marked nonhemolytic unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia throughout postnatal life.

J. Michael Henderson, G. Thomas Gilmore, Gregory J. Mackay, John R. Galloway, Thomas F. Dodson, Michael H. Kutner – 1 September 1992 – Liver blood flow and systemic hemodynamics were measured intraoperatively in 34 patients after liver transplantation. Ultrasound transit‐time flow probes measured hepatic arterial and portal venous flow over 10 to 75 min 1 to 3 hr after reperfusion. Cardiac output was measured by thermodilution. Mean cardiac output was 9.5 ± 2.8 L/min; the mean total liver blood flow of 2,091 ± 932 ml/min was 23% ± 11% of cardiac output.

Raymond S. Koff – 1 September 1992

Raymond S. Koff, Herbert L. Bonkovsky, Richard Lambrecht – 1 September 1992

Adrian M. di Bisceglie, Michiko Shindo, Tse‐Ling Fong, Michael W. Fried, Mark G. Swain, Nora V. Bergasa, Constantine A. Axiotis, Jeanne G. Waggoner, Yoon Park, Jay H. Hoofnagle – 1 September 1992 – Interferon‐α therapy is of proven efficacy in chronic hepatitis C, but it is not universally effective and may be associated with intolerable side effects. Ribavirin is a nucleoside analog with a broad spectrum of antiviral action. We conducted an uncontrolled pilot study of ribavirin therapy in 13 patients with chronic hepatitis C.

G. Michael Taylor, Robert D. Goldin, Peter Karayiannis, Howard C. Thomas – 1 September 1992 – An in situ hybridization method using radiolabeled oligonucleotide probes was developed to study primary sites of hepatitis A virus replication in an experimental animal model of infection. Hepatitis A genomic sequences were demonstrated in hepatocytes of four marmosets with acute hepatitis A by use of antisense probes. In two of these animals, staining was also found when a sense probe was used, which is consistent with active replication in the hepatocytes.

Michael A. E. Ramsay, A. W. Paulsen, Thomas H. Swygert – 1 September 1992

Don C. Rockey, Jacquelyn J. Maher, William R. Jarnagin, Giulio Gabbiani, Scott L. Friedman – 1 September 1992 – Hepatic lipocytes (perisinusoidal, Ito cells) are the primary matrix‐producing cells in liver fibrosis. During liver injury they undergo activation, a process characterized by cell proliferation and increased fibrogenesis. We and others have established a culture model in which in vivo features of lipocyte activation can be mimicked by cells grown on plastic.