Kiyoshi Inokuchi, Cooperative Study Group of Portal Hypertension of Japan – 1 July 1990 – To evaluate prophylactic surgery for esophageal varices, a prospective randomized controlled trial was begun in 1980 by the Japanese Research Society for Portal Hypertension. Methods of operation included selective shunts and nonshunting interruption procedures. One hundred and twelve Japanese patients, in whom endoscopic findings suggested risk of bleeding but who had no bleeding episode, were randomly allocated to the operated group of 60 patients or nonoperated group of 52 patients.

Riccardo Volpes, Joost J. van den Oord, Valeer J. Desmet – 1 July 1990 – The in situ distribution patterns of intercellular adhesion molecule‐1 and human leukocyte antigen‐DR antigens were studied in serial sections of 61 liver biopsy specimens from patients with hepatitis B virus infection using immunohistochemical techniques.

Karin Vanderkerken, Luc Bouwens, Eddie Wisse – 1 July 1990 – Pit cells, or large granular lymphocytes, with natural tumoricidal activity are found in the sinusoids of normal rat liver. Hepatic large granular lymphocytes are heterogeneous and can be subdivided into two subsets. These subsets were compared with peripheralblood large granular lymphocytes and were found to differ phenotypically and functionally.

Abraham A. Shaked, Ronald W. Busuttil – 1 July 1990 – Auxiliary heterotopic liver transplantation is theoretically attractive because it leaves the recipient's liver in place. The surgical trauma of hepatectomy is avoided, and failure of the graft does not necessarily lead to the death of the patient or a second, emergency transplantation. Another advantage is that matching the body sizes of the donor and the recipient is not mandatory, which increases the number of possible donors. However, previous clinical results of auxiliary liver transplantation have been poor.

Patrick Marcellin, Marie‐Anne Loriot, Nathalie Boyer, Michéle Martinot‐Peignoux, Claude Degott, Françoise Degos, Maud Brandely, Bernard Lenfant, Jean‐Pierre Benhamou – 1 July 1990 – Pharmacokinetics, tolerance and biological effects of human recombinant γ‐interferon were studied in 12 patients with chronic active hepatitis B.

Carlos V. Paya, Keith E. Holley, Russell H. Wiesner, Kumaravelu Balasubramaniam, Thomas F. Smith, Mark J. Espy, Jurgen Ludwig, Kenneth P. Batts, Paul E. Hermans, Ruud A. F. Krom – 1 July 1990 – Immunostaining techniques that use a monoclonal antibody against an early cytomegalovirus antigen or a polyclonal antibody, in situ DNA hybridization and inoculation of cell cultures for the detection of cytomegalovirus from liver biopsy specimens were studied in 20 liver transplant patients with cytomegalovirus hepatitis, as defined by histological criteria.

Thierry M. Vander Borght, Luc E. Lambotte, Stanislas A. Pauwels, Charles C. Dive – 1 July 1990 – Noninvasive measurement of liver regeneration with positron emission tomography has been attempted with 11C‐thymidine; however, results were unsatisfactory using thymidine labeled on its methyl group.

Manuela Merli, Oliviero Riggio, Adriana Romiti, Franco Ariosto, Lucio Mango, Giorgio Pinto, Massimiliano Savioli, Livio Capocaccia – 1 July 1990 – The basal energy production rate was measured using indirect calorimetry in 25 stable cirrhotic patients and 10 controls of comparable age. The endogenous substrate oxidation was also calculated by measuring urinary nitrogen excretion. The energy production rate was similar in cirrhotic patients and controls. The origins of liver disease and the degree of liver damage did not seem to influence the energy production rate.

Stephen A. Geller, W. Stephen Nichols, Mark J. Dycaico, Katherine A. Felts, Joseph A. Sorge – 1 July 1990 – Transgenic mice were constructed using human α1‐antitrypsin M and Z genomic clones. Livers of the M lineage mice showed slight cellular pleomorphism and immunohistochemically demonstrable finely granular α1‐antitrypsin material in hepatocytes. Z lineage mice with five gene copies per haploid mouse genome (Z # 1) demonstrated fine granular α1‐antitrypsin material and a few large globules.

John Olynyk, Pauline Hall, Richard Sallie, William Reed, Keith Shilkin, Malcolm Mackinnon – 1 July 1990 – The measurement of stainable hepatic iron using a microcomputer image analysis system was compared with standard biochemical measurements of liver iron content in 103 liver biopsy specimens–29 of idiopathic hemochromatosis, 51 of alcoholic liver disease and 23 of various nonalcoholic liver diseases. Sections were stained using Perls' method for iron; the mean area staining positively for iron was measured and expressed as a percentage of the area of biopsy measured.