1 September 1984

Ernest Seidman, Andrée M. Weber, Claude L. Morin, Roméo Ethier, Jacques B. Lamarche, Ara J. Guerguérian, Guy Geoffroy, Claude C. Roy – 1 September 1984 – A child with cryptogenic cirrhosis underwent a third session of elective sclerotherapy. Endoscopic therapy consisted of intravascular injection of ethanolamine oleate in varices newly developed at the midesophagus level. Irreversible paraplegia was documented within 8 hr postoperatively. Two years later she eventually died from gastrointestinal bleeding.

Bertrand Nalpas, Anne Vassault, Alain Le Guillou, Bruno Lesgourgues, Nicolas Ferry, Bernard Lacour, Pierre Berthelot – 1 September 1984 – Serum activity of the mitochondrial isoenzyme of aspartate aminotransferase (mAST) was measured with an immunological method in 74 subjects. Fourty‐six were chronic alcoholics with (30) or without (16) obvious alcoholic liver disease; 28 were nonalcoholic controls among whom 14 had acute or chronic viral hepatitis, the remaining 14 being healthy individuals.

Claes Söderlund, Lars Backman, Rolf Erwald, Lennart Forsgren, Olle Marions, Karl‐Ludvig Wiechel – 1 September 1984 – A prospective series of 26 patients with portal hypertension and recent bleeding from esophageal varices was investigated with percutaneous transhepatic selective portography (PTP). PTP was performed immediately prior to and, in 23 patients, just after the initial endoscopic injection sclerotherapy (ST) session to study the acute effects of ST on the mediastinal portal‐systemic collaterals.

Michael S. Kressner, Richard J. Stockert, Anatol G. Morell, Irmin Sternlieb – 1 September 1984 – We tested the hypothesis that the copper present in bile‐the major route of elimination of the metal from the body‐is derived exclusively from hepatocytes by administering radiocopper (84Cu or 67Cu)‐labeled ionic Cu, desialylated (AsCPN) or intact human ceruloplasmin (CPN), intravenously, to rats with cannulated bile ducts. The rates of appearance and the total amounts of radiolabeled isotope recovered in bile were measured.

Edna Ben‐Porath, Jack Wands, Mignon Gruia, Kurt Isselbacher – 1 September 1984 – We assessed the significance of the enhanced detection by monoclonal radioimmunoassay (M‐RIA) of HBsAg in serum of patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. In acute HBV infection, the M‐RIA detected HBsAg in the blood for a far longer period of time than previously recognized. In some patients, the “window phase” of HBV infection (defined as the presence of anti‐HBc and the lack of detectable HBsAg and anti‐HBs) was shortened or completely eliminated.

Padmanabhan Balaram – 1 September 1984

William I. Higuchi – 1 September 1984 – The purpose of this paper is to review the past and current in vitro studies aimed at understanding the mechanisms of cholesterol gallstone dissolution in bile. As is pointed out, there has been considerable progress in this area during the past 15 years with regard to the physical chemistry of the dissolution process.

Karl Müller – 1 September 1984 – Mixed micelles formed by the major constituents of native bile, i.e., bile salts and lecithin, were studied by X‐ray scattering differential scanning calorimetry and electron spin resonance spectroscopy. The aim of this study was to find differences in micellar structure and thermodynamic properties which might explain the different abilities of various biles to keep cholesterol in solution at comparable degrees of oversaturation.

GÖRan Lindblom, Per‐Olof Eriksson, GÖSta Arvidson – 1 September 1984 – The molecular organization in the liquid crystalline phases and the micellar solution phase has been investigated using numerous nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. A brief review of previous studies on the lamellar, hexagonal and cubic liquid crystalline phases is given. Mixed micelles were studied by measurements of 2H T1 and T2 nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation times of 2H‐labeled phosphatidylcholine. Using simple and rough models, the size and shape of the micellar aggregate were estimated.