[Pregnancy and motherhood after liver transplantation in terminal autoimmune active hepatitis with primary amenorrhea].

We report the case of a young patient with end-stage auto-immune chronic active hepatitis and primary amenorrhea who became pregnant 18 months after orthotopic liver transplantation. She continued an uncomplicated pregnancy on treatment with ciclosporin A and spontaneously gave birth to a full term and healthy child.

Progesterone receptors in lymphocytes of liver-transplanted and transfused patients.

Previous data have shown that lymphocytes from pregnant women, but not from non-pregnant individuals, displayed progesterone receptors. These receptors are inducible in normal human lymphocytes in vitro by mitogenic or allogeneic stimuli. The present study was designed to test the role of in vivo allogeneic stimulation in inducing progesterone receptors in lymphocytes from transplanted and transfused patients.

[Rejection of discordant xenografts of the liver and heart].

Comparative study of the rejection of 26 heart and liver xenografts in strain discordant combination (guinea pig/rat lewis) allows the authors to establish the liver's weakest sensibility to natural xenoantibodies, the modesty of histological signs on liver xenograft rejection, and these lost's more longer survival. The results are compared to those obtained with 26 heart and liver isografts.

[Last recourse reconstruction of the cervicothoracic esophagus: the free jejunal transplant].

Free intestinal autograft has been recommended for oesophageal reconstruction following total circular pharyngolaryngectomy for cancer. Coloplasty or gastroplasty are commonly used for reconstruction of cervical and thoracic oesophagus. Necrosis of the plasty or anastomotic leakage can occur and may require the resection or reintegration of the pedicled graft into the abdominal cavity.

Extent of hepatectomy in the rat. Evaluation of basal conditions and effect of therapy.

In the present study, subtotal hepatectomy was evaluated as a model of acute liver failure in the rat. Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing 250-300 g, underwent hepatectomy under varying basal conditions of temperature and glucose administration. Rats operated and maintained postoperatively at ambient temperature (25 degrees C external environment) developed hypothermia with a rate of return to normal temperature which was related to the extent of hepatectomy and the availability of glucose postoperatively.

[Liver transplantation in adults: postoperative management and development during the first months].

Recent improvements in the results of orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) have made this a well-accepted treatment for patients with severe hepatic failure. Current problems encountered following OLT are discussed. Immediate complications comprise surgical bleeding, primary graft non-function, and graft failure due to hepatic artery occlusion.

[Development of an orthotopic hepatic transplantation technique in rats: what should the researcher's objectives be?].

The development of liver transplantation in man emphasises the need for more work in the field of experimental liver transplantation. For this purpose the model of orthotopic liver transplantation in the rat is very useful but difficult to establish as a safe and reproducible technique. The aim of this study concerning acquisition of the orthotopic liver transplantation model in the rat was to define precise objectives for future investigators.

Prolongation of guinea pig-to-rat xenograft survival with BN 52063, a specific antagonist of platelet-activating factor.

Xenotransplantation between different species may possibly solve some of the difficulties associated with human donor organ availability. However, organ xenografts are very rapidly rejected, particularly in discordant donor-recipient combinations, due to the presence of natural cytotoxic antibodies in the recipient. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of two potential inhibitors of a xenogeneic antigen-antibody reaction: Iloprost, an analogue of prostacyclin I2, and BN 52063, a PAF-antagonist.

One liver for two: an experimental study in primates.

The need for liver grafts is critical in countries where brain death is not accepted as a legal criterion for organ retrieval. This experimental study was conducted with nonhuman primates in order to evaluate the feasibility of liver transplantation using a living donor. An original technique was employed to remove the left part of the liver from the donor: transection of the parenchyma was done while the blood flow was kept to the left part of the liver.

Cholestatic effect of cyclosporine in the rat. An inhibition of bile acid secretion.

Cyclosporine administration in patients with organ transplants may cause cholestasis. In the rat, intraperitoneal administration of cyclosporine, 10 mg/kg, for three weeks did not cause liver function test abnormalities or hepatic histological lesions. However a significant reduction of bile flow and bile acid secretion rates was observed.

Hepatocellular carcinoma after danazol therapy.

Danazol, an inhibitor of pituitary gonadotropin, has been proposed in the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We report the case of a female patient with SLE in whom a hepatocellular carcinoma was discovered after 4 years of treatment with danazol. Except for 3 days of hypochondrium pain, there were neither clinical signs of liver tumor nor biological abnormalities.