Hepatitis C virus drug resistance–associated substitutions: State of the art summary

Erik Lontok, Patrick Harrington, Anita Howe, Tara Kieffer, Johan Lennerstrand, Oliver Lenz, Fiona McPhee, Hongmei Mo, Neil Parkin, Tami Pilot‐Matias, Veronica Miller – 10 June 2015 – Hepatitis C virus (HCV) drug development has resulted in treatment regimens composed of interferon‐free, all‐oral combinations of direct‐acting antivirals. While the new regimens are potent and highly efficacious, the full clinical impact of HCV drug resistance, its implications for retreatment, and the potential role of baseline resistance testing remain critical research and clinical questions.

Prospective evaluation of the diagnostic accuracy of hepatic copper content, as determined using the entire core of a liver biopsy sample

Xu Yang, Xiao‐peng Tang, Yong‐hong Zhang, Kai‐zhong Luo, Yong‐fang Jiang, Hong‐yu Luo, Jian‐hua Lei, Wen‐long Wang, Ming‐ming Li, Han‐chun Chen, Shi‐lin Deng, Li‐ying Lai, Jun Liang, Min Zhang, Yi Tian, Yun Xu – 10 June 2015 – Hepatic copper determination is an important test for the diagnosis of Wilson's disease (WD). However, the method has not been standardized, the diagnostic accuracy has not been evaluated prospectively, and the optimal cut‐off value remains controversial.

Low, rather than high, body mass index confers increased risk for post‐liver transplant death and graft loss: Risk modulated by model for end‐stage liver disease

Kiran M. Bambha, Jennifer L. Dodge, Jane Gralla, David Sprague, Scott W. Biggins – 10 June 2015 – With increasing attention being paid to optimizing patient outcomes, it has been proposed that liver transplantation (LT) for individuals with elevated body mass index (BMI) values and high Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores may adversely affect post‐LT outcomes. We investigated the impact of BMI on post‐LT outcomes in the context of MELD at LT.

Specific hepatic delivery of procollagen α1(I) small interfering RNA in lipid‐like nanoparticles resolves liver fibrosis

Carolina Jiménez Calvente, Alfica Sehgal, Yury Popov, Yong Ook Kim, Victor Zevallos, Ugur Sahin, Mustafa Diken, Detlef Schuppan – 10 June 2015 – Fibrosis accompanies the wound‐healing response to chronic liver injury and is characterized by excessive hepatic collagen accumulation dominated by collagen type I. Fibrosis often progresses to cirrhosis.

Liver transplantation for critically Ill patients with secondary sclerosing cholangitis: Outcome and complications

Torsten Voigtländer, Elmar Jaeckel, Frank Lehner, Michael P. Manns, Tim O. Lankisch – 9 June 2015 – Secondary sclerosing cholangitis in critically ill patients (SSC‐CIP) is a destructive cholangiopathy with a poor prognosis. Liver transplantation (LT) is an established therapeutic option in end‐stage liver disease but is insufficiently evaluated in patients with SSC‐CIP. Our aim was the retrospective analysis of the outcome and complications of patients with SSC‐CIP undergoing LT between 2002 and 2012.

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Patricia Martinez‐Ortega, Fernando Rotellar, Pablo Marti‐Cruchaga, Gabriel Zozaya, Carlos Sanchez‐Justicia, Fernando Pardo – 9 June 2015

Propensity score‐based survival benefit of simultaneous liver‐kidney transplant over liver transplant alone for recipients with pretransplant renal dysfunction

Pratima Sharma, Xu Shu, Douglas E. Schaubel, Randall S. Sung, John C. Magee – 9 June 2015 – The survival benefit of simultaneous liver‐kidney transplantation (SLKT) over liver transplantation alone (LTA) is unclear from the current literature. Additionally, the role of donor kidney quality, measured by the kidney donor risk index (KDRI), in survival benefit of SLKT is not studied.

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