Christian Müller, Peter Knoflach, Christoph C. Zielinski – 1 December 1989 – Serum levels of soluble interleukin 2 receptor were determined in patients with acute viral hepatitis and patients with various chronic liver diseases. In addition, the ability of peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with alcoholic cirrhosis to generate soluble interleukin 2 receptor following mitogenic stimulation was studied in vitro.

Takashi Sonoda, Ken Shirabe, Kenji Takenaka, Takashi Kanematsu, Kotaro Yasumori, Keizo Sugimachi – 1 December 1989 – We studied 36 cases (38 nodules) of small hepatocellular carcinoma with special attention directed to detectability using angiography and histology. Among the 38 nodules, 31 nodules (81.6%) were evident. The remaining seven (18.4%) were not evident angiographically but were detected using ultrasonography and/or computed tomography, prior to angiography. An elevated level of serum α‐fetoprotein also suggested a diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Harold O. Conn – 1 December 1989 – A 34‐year‐old patient with cryptogenic cirrhosis underwent a portacaval shunt after four episodes of upper gastrointestinal bleeding. His subsequent course is remarkable not onle because of its 26‐year duration, but also because of the absence of any subsequent hepatic decomensation such as jaundice, ascites, coagulopathy or encephalopathy. Currently, the shunt is patent.

Bikram Verma‐Ansil, Frederick J. Carmichael, Victor Saldivia, George Varghese, Hector Orrego – 1 December 1989 – Alcoholic liver disease is frequently accompanied by portal hypertension. We have previously shown that alcohol intake in awake, unrestrained rats is followed by an increase in portal tributary blood flow. In this study, the effect of ethanol on splanchnic hemodynamics in rats with portal hypertension was analyzed. Portal hypertension was induced by partial ligation of the portal vein.

M. Pilar Pizcueta, Antonio M. de Lacy, David Kravetz, Jaime Bosch, Joan Rodés – 1 December 1989 – Propranolol decreases portal pressure by reducing portal blood inflow. Studies in rats with prehepatic portal hypertension due to portal vein stenosis (a model with extensive portosystemic shunting) have shown that propranolol increases the portocollateral resistance, which hinders the fall in portal pressure.

James S. Malter, Michael A. Gerber – 1 December 1989

Dan W. Elliott – 1 December 1989 – The correct timing of surgery in cases of gallstone pancreatitis is debatable. To delineate more clearly the influence of the timing of surgery in the treatment of the disease, a prospective randomized clinical study of early surgery (less than 48 hours after admission) and delayed surgery (more than 48 hours after admission) was conducted in 165 patients.

E. Randy Eckert – 1 December 1989

Chia‐Ming Chu, Yun‐Fan Liaw – 1 December 1989 – To evaluate the immune process involved in the pathogenesis of liver cell damage in chronic hepatitis delta virus infection, a panel of monoclonal antibodies against pan T cells (Leu 4), inducer/helper T cells (Leu 3a+3b), suppressor/cytotoxic T cells (Lue 2a), B cell (Leu 12), monocyts/macrophages (Leu M3) and NK/K cells (Leu 7) was used to characterize the subsets of the mononuclear cell infiltrates in livers from 12 patients with chronic type D hepatitis, with special emphasis on the areas of periportal piecemeal necrosis and intralobular n

Samuel S. Lee – 1 December 1989 – Experiments were carried out to determine the accuracy and validity of estimations of hepatic blood flow from systemic clearances of ethanol during very low dose (8 μmol. min.−1· kg−1) infusions of ethanol in anesthetized cats. Systemic clearances were compared with directly measured hepatic blood flow using a hepatic venous longcircuit technique. This technique allowed direct measurement and alteration of hepatic blood flow and collection of arterial, portal, and hepatic venous blood samples without depletion of the animal's blood volume.