Liver Transplantation in Brazil

Paulo Lisboa Bittencourt, Alberto Queiroz Farias, Claudia Alves Couto – 26 May 2016 – Over 1700 liver transplantations (LTs) are performed annually in Brazil. In absolute terms, the country performs more LT surgeries than anywhere else in Latin America and is third worldwide. However, due to its increasing population and inadequate donor organ supply, the country averages 5‐10 LTs per million population, far lower than required. There is a marked heterogeneity in organ donation and LT activity throughout the country.

Multidrug‐resistant organisms in liver transplant: Mitigating risk and managing infections

Jonathan Hand, Gopi Patel – 26 May 2016 – Liver transplant (LT) recipients are vulnerable to infections with multidrug‐resistant (MDR) pathogens. Risk factors for colonization and infection with resistant bacteria are ubiquitous and unavoidable in transplantation. During the past decade, progress in transplantation and infection prevention has contributed to the decreased incidence of infections with methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus. However, even in the face of potentially effective antibiotics, vancomycin‐resistant enterococci continue to plague LT.

Stem/progenitor cells in liver regeneration

Tohru Itoh – 26 May 2016 – In severely or chronically injured livers where the proliferative capacity of hepatocytes is compromised, putative stem/progenitor cells are supposed to be activated. These cells are generally characterized as biliary epithelial cell marker‐positive cells that emerge ectopically in the parenchymal region of the liver, as determined by histopathological examination of various liver diseases in humans and animal models.

Circulating let‐7 levels in plasma and extracellular vesicles correlate with hepatic fibrosis progression in chronic hepatitis C

Kentaro Matsuura, Valeria De Giorgi, Cathy Schechterly, Richard Y. Wang, Patrizia Farci, Yasuhito Tanaka, Harvey J. Alter – 26 May 2016 – The goal of this study was to determine whether an association exists between circulating microRNA (miRNA) levels and disease progression in chronic hepatitis C (CHC), whether plasma or extracellular vesicles (EVs) were optimal for miRNA measurement and their correlation with hepatic miRNA expression, and the mechanistic plausibility of this association. We studied 130 CHC patients prospectively followed over several decades.

Combined hepatocellular‐cholangiocarcinoma in a patient with Abernethy malformation and tetralogy of Fallot: A case report

Sofie Happaerts, Amélie Foucault, Jean Sébastien Billiard, Bich Nguyen, Franck Vandenbroucke‐Menu – 26 May 2016 – Abernethy malformation is a rare congenital anomaly of the portal vein where the portal blood bypasses the liver. We report the first case of a patient with Abernethy malformation and tetralogy of Fallot associated with nodular regenerative hyperplasia and focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH), which finally evolved to a giant hepatocellular‐cholangiocarcinoma (HCC‐CC) of the liver, successfully resected. (Hepatology 2016;64:1800‐1802)

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