Bisindigotin, a TCDD antagonist from the Chinese medicinal herb Isatis indigotica

A new indigoid derivative, bisindigotin (1), with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD)-antagonistic activity was isolated from the ethanol extract of the Chinese medicinal herb Isatis indigotica. Its structure was determined by spectroscopic methods. In the human HepG2 hepatoma cell model, 1 (50 nM to 2 microM) was found to dose-dependently inhibit TCDD-induced ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity.     

Metformin protects against carbon tetrachloride hepatotoxicity in mice

In the present study, the hepatoprotective effect of metformin (Met), a dimethylbiguanide anti-hyperglycemic, was examined in a mouse model of liver damage induced by chronic repeated administration of carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)) (5 microl/kg, twice a week for 12 weeks). Met, when given orally in drinking water at an estimated daily dose of 25 or 50 mg/kg for 10 weeks starting 2 weeks after CCl(4) challenge, protected against CCl(4) hepatotoxicity. The results indicate that the hepatoprotection afforded by Met treatment at a dose of 25 mg/kg against CCl(4) toxicity may at least in part be mediated by the enhancement of mitochondrial glutathione redox status.     

Liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma: an Asian perspective

Liver transplantation is an established treatment modality for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), creating a potential for disease-free, long-term survival. In Asia, due to a severe shortage of donors, resection remains the treatment of choice for patients with HCC and good liver functional reserve. The use of marginal donors, split liver grafts and grafts from living donors are potential solutions that are best performed in experienced liver transplant centres to ensure an optimal outcome. Ethical issues relating to living donor liver transplantation have yet to be fully addressed. The roles of therapies to limit tumour progression during the waiting period, such as transarterial chemoembolization, need to be further investigated in the setting of a prospective trial and their benefits better defined.     

Lack of evidence for human-to-human transmission of avian influenza A (H9N2) viruses in Hong Kong, China 1999

In April 1999, isolation of avian influenza A (H9N2) viruses from humans was confirmed for the first time. H9N2 viruses were isolated from nasopharyngeal aspirate specimens collected from two children who were hospitalized with uncomplicated, febrile, upper respiratory tract illnesses in Hong Kong during March 1999. Novel influenza viruses have the potential to initiate global pandemics if they are sufficiently transmissible among humans. We conducted four retrospective cohort studies of persons exposed to these two H9N2 patients to assess whether human-to-human transmission of avian H9N2 viruses had occurred. No serologic evidence of H9N2 infection was found in family members or health-care workers who had close contact with the H9N2-infected children, suggesting that these H9N2 viruses were not easily transmitted from person to person.