Ginny L. Bumgardner, Carlos Fasola, David E. R. Sutherland – 1 September 1988

Joan Rodés – 1 September 1988 – To investigate the usefulness of paracentesis as an alternative treatment for ascites, 41 cirrhotic patients with ‘tense’ ascites were randomly assigned to treatment with either repeated paracenteses plus i.v. albumin infusion (n=20) or diuretics (n=21). Satisfactory mobilization of ascites was obtained with paracentesis in all but one case and with diuretics in all but two cases. Ascites disappeared within 3 or 4 days with paracentesis, but only after 15 days with diuretics.

Charles L. Witte, Marlys H. Witte – 1 September 1988 – In a prospective study of 33 adults with portal vein thrombosis unrelated to a liver tumor, we have assessed the prevalence of primary myeloproliferative disorders using conventional criteria and cultures of bone marrow progenitor cells. A primary myeloproliferative disorder was documented in 14 patients investigated at the time of recognition of portal vein thrombosis.

Harold O. Conn – 1 September 1988 – An epidemiologic investigation of an acupuncturist's practice in Rhode Island identified 35 patients who were infected with hepatitis B virus during 1984. Of 366 patients seen by the acupuncturist during 1984,316 (86%) completed questionnaires and submitted serum for hepatitis B serology. Use of tests for immunoglobulin M antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (IgM anti‐HBc) identified 17 case‐patients who otherwise may have gone undetected. Thirty‐four of the 35 case‐patients were treated in only one of the two clinics run by the acupuncturist.

1 September 1988

1 September 1988

Steven Schenker – 1 September 1988

Dominique Bernuau, Anne Poliard, Gérard Feldmann – 1 September 1988 – Cellular analysis of hepatic α‐fetoprotein gene expression in normal adult rat and during regeneration induced by partial hepatectomy was performed at the cellular level by in situ hybridization using 35S‐labeled complementary DNA probes and immunoperoxidase techniques. In normal adult rat liver sections, a few α‐fetoprotein mRNA‐cDNA hybrids are detected over all hepatocytes. No protein is detected with routine immunoperoxidase methods.

Alberto Montanari, Isabella Simoni, Daniele Vallisa, Antonio Trifirò, Rossana Colla, Roberto Abbiati, Loris Borghi, Almerico Novarini – 1 September 1988 – Free amino acids were measured under postabsorptive conditions in plasma and intracellular water of skeletal muscle obtained by needle biopsy in nine healthy controls and 14 subjects suffering from clinically stable liver cirrhosis. The aromatic amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine in cirrhotics were elevated to the same extent in plasma and in muscle water.

Francine Goulet, Claire Normand, Odette Morin – 1 September 1988 – Hepatocytes, prepared from normal adult rat liver, were seeded onto a collagen substratum and cultured alone or in the presence of rat liver endothelial cells. When hepatocytes were cultured alone in a hormonally defined serum‐free medium, decreased albumin production and rapid morphological deterioration of bile canaliculi structures and gap junctions occurred within 4 to 5 days.