Orthotopic liver transplantation for type I Crigler‐Najjar syndrome

Stuart S. Kaufman, R. Patrick Wood, Byers W. Shaw, Rodney S. Markin, Philip Rosenthal, Bruno Gridelli, Jon A. Vanderhoof – 1 November 1986 – A neurologically normal 3‐year‐old girl with Type I Crigler‐Najjar syndrome was successfully treated with orthotopic liver transplantation. Preoperative serum bilirubin concentrations as high as 31 mg per dl were not diminished with phenobarbital or phototherapy.

Zinc therapy of Wilson's disease: Two views

George J. Brewer, I. Herbert Scheinberg – 1 September 1986 – After initial promotion of copper excretion with D‐penicillamine, the effect of oral zinc sulphate (3×150 mg/day, loading dose; 3×100 mg/day, maintenance dose) in two children with clinically stable Wilson's disease was evaluated after completion of three years' treatment. The course, judged by clinical, biochemical, and histological parameters was satisfactory in both. The urinary copper concentration reverted to less than 1.26 μmol/24 hours; and the serum copper concentration decreased further during zinc sulphate treatment.

Morphological findings in the liver of children with cystic fibrosis: A light and electron microscopical study

Rolf Hultcrantz, Silwa Mengarelli, Birgitta Strandvik – 1 September 1986 – Liver tissue from five children with cystic fibrosis, obtained through percutaneous liver biopsies, have been investigated via light and electron microscopy. None of the patients had clinical evidence of liver disorder, and their blood chemistry was mainly normal.

Testosterone treatment of men with alcoholic cirrhosis: A double‐blind study

Christian Gluud, The Copenhagen Study Group for Liver Diseases – 1 September 1986 – A double‐blind, placebo‐controlled multicenter trial was conducted to determine the efficacy of oral testosterone treatment (200 mg three times daily) in men with alcoholic cirrhosis. By skewed randomization (3:2), 134 patients received testosterone and 87 placebo. Patients were followed from 8 to 62 months (median = 28 months). In the testosterone group, 33 patients died (25%; 95% confidence limits = 18 to 33%) as compared to 18 (21%; 95% confidence limits = 13 to 31%) in the placebo group.

Emergency portacaval anastomosis (EPCA): The long‐awaited trial

Harold O. Conn – 1 September 1986 – A prospective randomized trial was conducted in all comers with cirrhosis and bleeding varices comparing 1) emergency portacaval shunt (EPCS) performed within 8 hr of admission, with 2) emergency medical therapy (EMT) followed in 2–6 wks by elective portacaval shunt in survivors. All patients received identical supportive therapy initially, and the EMT group received vasopressin in continuous infusion and, if necessary, esophageal balloon tamponade to control varix bleeding.

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