Salvatore Badalamenti, Pere Gines, Vicente Arroyo, Josep Llach, Carlos Piera, Antoni Rimola, Wladimiro Jimenez, Joan Gaya, Roser Casamitjana, Francisca Rivera, Joan Rodes – 1 March 1990 – Acute intravenous amino acid infusion or a highprotein diet increases renal plasma flow and the glomerular filtration rate in healthy subjects. Conversely, a low‐protein diet reduces renal plasma flow and glomerular filtration rate. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of intravenous amino acid infusion and dietary proteins on kidney function in cirrhosis.

Mercedes Roget, Maria Buti, Juan Ignacio Esteban, Rafael Esteban, Jaime Guardia, Albert J. Czaja, J. Eileen Hay, Jorge Rakela – 1 February 1990

1 February 1990

Jean Pierre Vinel, Jean‐Luc Monnin, Jean‐Marc Combis, Paul Cales, Herve Desmorat, Jean‐Pierre Pascal – 1 February 1990 – Organic nitrates were reported to reduce portohepatic venous pressure gradient in patients with cirrhosis. However, these drugs lower arterial pressure and are well known to induce tolerace. The aim of the present study was to assess the hemodynamic effects of molsidomine, an antianginal agent, which does not induce tolerance and has little effect on arterial pressure in patients with normal liver, in 13 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis.

J. T. Beranek – 1 February 1990

S. K. Sarin – 1 February 1990 – Absolute alcohol is a potentially optimal agent for sclerotherapy of esophageal varices. It is cheap and readily available. We compared the efficacy and safety of alcohol with those of a commonly used sclerosing agent, polidocanol. The study was planned to include patients with previous bleeding from esophageal varices randomly assigned to one of the two treatments.

Steven Schenker, Henry S. Perkins, Michael F. Sorrell – 1 February 1990

Adrian M. Di Bisceglie, Vinod K. Rustgi, Chris Kassianides, Mauricio Lisker‐Melman, Yoon Park, Jeanne G. Waggoner, Jay H. Hoofnagle – 1 February 1990 – Eight patients with chronic hepatitis B entered a pilot study of gamma interferon and alpha interferon in combination. Gamma interferon alone had minimal inhibitory effects on serum levels of hepatitis B virus as monitored by serum HBV DNA and DNA‐polymerase activity. The drug also gave troublesome side effects. In contrast, alpha interferon had more potent inhibitory effects on serum HBV levels and fewer side effects.

1 February 1990

R. Thomas Holzbach – 1 February 1990