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

Marcus Sellinger, Carolyn Barrett, Phillipe Malle, Ellen R. Gordon, James L. Boyer – 1 February 1990 – Controversy exists concerning the localization of the enzyme Na+, K+‐ATPase to canalicular membranes in hepatocytes. Most studies find enzyme activity only at the basolateral plasma membrane domain of the hepatocyte. However, Na+, K+‐ATPase activity has been detected recently in a canalicular membrane fraction prepared by Mg++ precipitation, suggesting that differences in membrane domain fluidity account for these discrepancies.

Patrick Campbell, Jerry N. Thompson, J. Robert E. Fraser, Torvard C. Laurent, HåKan Pertoft, Lennart Rodén – 1 February 1990 – The activity of N‐acetylglucosamine‐6‐phosphate deacetylase, a key enzyme in the pathway of N‐acetylglucosamine catabolism, was measured in hepatocytes, Kupffer cells and sinusoidal endothelial cells from rat liver and cultured human skin fibroblasts. Kupffer cells and endothelial cells had similar high levels of deacetylase activity that were more than twice the level observed in fibroblasts.