New Trends in Hepatology : The Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Italian National Programme on Liver Cirrhosis and Viral Hepatitis, San Miniato (Pisa), Italy, 7–9 January, 1996

The Italian Group for the Study of Liver Cirrhosis began its activity in 1980 on the basis of recognition and financial support from the Italian Ministry of the University, Scientific Research and Technology, having been chosen from several other scientific programs. The group is now called the National Group for the Study of Liver Cirrhosis and Viral Hepatitis and includes more than 40 centers throughout the nation under the auspices of the universities. The primary Imtlatlve of the group, to combine experimental and clinical approaches in the study of liver pathophysiology, remains unchanged. Annual meetings in January provide the possibility of comparing experimental and clinical results in the spirit of mutual comprehension and criticism. After 15 years and 6 volumes (published biannually), the actual improvement of Italian research in liver pathophysiology is evident. In fact, in order to let other researchers know what has been achieved we chose to publish the 7th volume, in spite of the economic difficulties at hand. We have gathered specific experiences of all the centers included in the national program. Each group was required to present an update in its own field of research, rather than specific or recently obtained results, which could have been reported only in relationship with other data already published by others. Like the 6th edition in our series, this volume affirms the specific competence of all the participants and summarizes the most important updates in liver pathophysiology. Front Matter....Pages i-x Front Matter....Pages 1-1 4-Hydroxy-Alkenals, Products of Lipid Peroxidation, as Signals for Biochemical Functions of Normal Cells....Pages 3-16 Oxidative Stress and Protein Kinase C Activity Modulation....Pages 17-23 Oxidative Damage in Chronic and Acute Liver Disease.....Pages 24-32 Chronic Ethanol Consumption Impairs Dolichol Levels and Glycosylation Processes in Rat Liver Microsomes and Golgi Apparatus....Pages 33-41 Compartmentation and Redox State of Thiols and Proteins During Acute Ethanol Intoxication in Rats....Pages 42-47 Possible Role of Ethanol-Derived Free Radicals in the Pathogenesis of Alcohol-Induced Liver Damage....Pages 48-55 Hepatic Iron Overload Induced by Phenylhydrazine: Release of Iron in a Free Form and DNA Damage....Pages 56-64 The Effects of Development of the MDR1 Phenotype on Cell Susceptibility to Undergoing Lipid Peroxidation and Ionizing Radiation.....Pages 65-73 Molecular and Cellular Aspects of Iron-Mediated Liver Toxicity....Pages 74-84 The Cellular and Molecular Basis of Liver Fibrogenesis....Pages 85-92 Proliferation of Hepatic Stellate Cells and Lipid Peroxidation: Changes Due to Polyphenols.....Pages 93-103 Reoxygenation Injury in Isolated Rat Hepatocytes....Pages 104-112 Oxidative Stress and Cell Damage Following Orthotopic Liver Transplantation.....Pages 113-121 The Genomic Response of Liver Cells to Post-Ischemic Reperfusion and Oxidative Stress.....Pages 122-129 Front Matter....Pages 131-131 Cytotoxic and Protective Effects of Bile Salts in Vitro ....Pages 133-141 Lamellar Bodies in Human Gallbladder Bile....Pages 142-148 Hepatocyte Lipid-Metabolic Interplays and the Cholesterol Secretion Process to Bile: Insights from Rat Studies.....Pages 149-157 Front Matter....Pages 159-159 Lipid Peroxidation and Hepatocarcinogenesis: γ-Glutamyl Transpeptidase-Dependent Oxidant Stress in Hepatic Preneoplastic Lesions and HEPG2 Human Hepatoma Cells....Pages 161-168 Antioxidant System in Hepatocellular Carcinoma....Pages 169-173 Loss of Heterozygosity of the Long Arm of Chromosome 16 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma on Liver Cirrhosis....Pages 174-182 Front Matter....Pages 159-159 Potential Molecular Mechanisms of Viral Liver Carcinogenesis....Pages 183-196 Prevalence of Wild-Type and Variant Transcripts of Liver Estrogen Receptors in Chronic Liver Disease....Pages 197-203 Front Matter....Pages 205-205 Molecular Biology of HCV: Implications in Epidemiology and Diagnosis of Infection....Pages 207-216 Cell-mediated Immune Response in Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Infection: Are Different Strategies Adopted by HCV and Hepatitis B Virus to Persist?....Pages 217-226 The Epidemiological and Clinical Aspects of Hepatitis C in Italy....Pages 227-233 Diagnostic Evaluation of Patients with Chronic HCV Infection....Pages 234-243 Correlation Between Hepatitis C Virus RNA Levels in Serum, Liver and Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells and Severity of Liver Disease in Chronic Hepatitis C Patients....Pages 244-250 Hepatitis C Virus Lymphotropism and Possible Pathogenetic Implications.....Pages 251-259 HCV-Induced Cryoglobulinemic Vasculitis: Pathogenesis and Therapeutic Implications....Pages 260-272 Front Matter....Pages 273-273 Cirrhosis Associated Congestive Gastropathy....Pages 275-285 Treatment of Ascites in Cirrhosis....Pages 286-295 Spectral EEG Monitoring of Hepatic Encephalopathy.....Pages 296-305 Interaction Between Non Steroidal Antiinflammatory Drugs and Interferon-α System: Mechanisms and Basis for the Clinical Use in the Treatment of Chronic Viral Hepatitis.....Pages 306-314 Pharmacological Treatment of Primary Biliary Cirrhosis....Pages 315-325 Back Matter....Pages 327-336 This book contains papers from members of the Italian Group for the Study of Liver Cirrhosis and Viral Hepatitis, formed in 1980 on the basis of recognition and financial support from the Italian Ministry of the University. The primary initiative of the group is to combine experimental and clinical approaches in the study of liver pathophysiology. We have gathered specific experiences of all the centers included in the national program. Each group was required to present an update in its own field of research, rather than specific or recently obtained results which could have been reported only in relationship with data already published by others. This volume affirms the specific competence of all the participants and summarizes the most important updates in liver pathophysiology. The volume is divided into 5 sections dealing with different aspects of liver pathophysiology. Many contributions focus on the pathophysiology of liver injury and on clinical and pathogenetic aspects of hepatitis C virus infection, which today are representative of emergent fields. Other important aspects include the pathophysiology of liver cancer and clinical and therapeutic approaches in liver cirrhosis