Francesco Salerno, Salvatore Badalamenti, Elettra Lorenzano, Pamela Moser, Pierluigi Incerti – 1 April 1991 – Fifty‐four cirrhotic patients with refractory ascites were treated with one‐session large‐volume paracentesis and randomly assigned to two groups. The first group was infused with human albumin, and the second group was infused with hemaccel at doses with comparable oncotic power. The two groups were compared for incidence of complications, recurrence of massive ascites after hospital dismissal and survival rate.

John R. Lake, Teresa L. Wright – 1 April 1991

Jorge J. Gumucio, Adrian M. Di Bisceglie – 1 April 1991 – Fifty‐one patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma were treated by embolization of the hepatic artery with Gelfoam powder, contrast material and three chemotherapeutic agents (doxorubicin, mitomycin, cisplatin). Twelve patients (24%) had a partial response with a decrease in the tumor diameter by at least 50%, 13 patients (26%) had only minor responses, 12 (24%) had stabilization of disease and the remainder had progressive disease.

Satoru Todo, Anthony J. Demetris, David van Thiel, Lewis Teperman, John J. Fung, Thomas E. Starzl – 1 April 1991 – Fifty‐nine patients with prior hepatitis B virus infection underwent orthotopic liver transplantation. During the first 2 mo, mortality was not significantly different in the hepatitis B virus–infected group (25.5%) vs. a hepatitis B virus–immune control group (21%). Beyond 2 mo, the mortality, rate of graft loss, need for retransplantation and incidence of abnormal liver function were significantly higher in the hepatitis B virus–infected group.

Yun‐Fan Liaw, I‐Shyan Sheen, Tong‐Jong Chen, Chia‐Ming Chu, Chia‐C Pao – 1 April 1991 – To investigate the incidence, determinants and significance of delayed clearance of serum HBsAg in chronic hepatitis B virus infection, a prospective follow‐up study was conducted in two consecutive groups of patients. Group I consisted of 984 patients (859 men and 125 women) with biopsy‐proven chronic type B hepatitis, whereas group II consisted of 1,598 asymptomatic chronic carriers (998 men and 600 women) with normal serum aminotransferase activity.

Maria‐Christina Jung, Marietta Stemler, Thomas Weimer, Ulrich Spengler, Jutta Döhrmann, Robert Hoffmann, Dieter Eichenlaub, Josef Eisenburg, Gustav Paumgartner, Gert Riethmüller, Hans Will, Gerd R. Pape – 1 April 1991 – The hepatitis B virus genome encodes a transcriptional transactivator protein designated HBxAg. We have investigated whether this antigen is a target structure for human T‐lymphocytes.

Maria Winnock, Marie‐Edith Lafon, Annick Boulard, Anne‐Marie Ferrer, Jean Saric, Liliane Dubuisson, Paulette Bioulac‐Sage, Charles Balabaud – 1 April 1991 – The existence of a marginal lymphocyte population in rat liver sinusoids has already been demonstrated using the sinusoidal lavage method. We used the same technique to study the lymphocyte population in human liver obtained ex vivo after partial hepatectomy for benign or malignant tumors and compared it with peripheral and portal blood lymphocyte populations.

Lorenzo Rossaro, Vincenzo Mazzaferro, Carlo L. Scotti‐Foglieni, Donald S. Williams, Elena Simplaceanu, Virgil Simplaceanu, Antonio Francavilla, Thomas E. Starzl, Chien Ho, David H. Van Thiel – 1 April 1991 – The effect of cyclosporin A on the hepatic energy status and intracellular pH of the liver and its response to a fructose challenge has been investigated using in vivo phosphorus‐31 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in dogs.

Elisabetta Cariani, Chantal Lasserre, François Kemeny, Dominique Franco, Christian Brechot – 1 April 1991 – Insulin‐like growth factor II is a fetal growth factor structurally and functionally related to insulin and insulin‐like growth factor I. Its mRNA expression is developmentally regulated in human liver, the reexpression of insulin‐like growth factor II fetal transcripts being often observed in primary liver cancer. Insulin‐like growth factor II and α‐fetoprotein mRNAs were studied in 16 human primary liver cancers, most of which were highly differentiated.

Jacques Devière, Jean‐Pierre Vaerman, Jean Content, Chantal Denys, Liliane Schandene, Paul Vandenbussche, Yves Sibille, Etienne Dupont – 1 April 1991 – Under endotoxin‐free conditions, peripheral blood mononuclear cells and purified monocytes isolated from healthy control subjects and patients with alcoholic cirrhosis disclose elevated tumor necrosis factor α messenger RNA level and produce tumor necrosis factor α in response to stimulation by either soluble polymeric IgA or monomeric IgA bound to the surface of culture dishes but not by soluble monomeric IgA.