Julie K. Heimbach, Ryutaro Hirose, Peter G. Stock, David P. Schladt, Hui Xiong, Jiannong Liu, Kim M. Olthoff, Ann Harper, Jon J. Snyder, Ajay K. Israni, Bertram L. Kasiske, W. Ray Kim – 16 January 2015 – The current system granting liver transplant candidates with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) additional Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) points is controversial due to geographic disparity and uncertainty regarding optimal prioritization of candidates. The current national policy assigns a MELD exception score of 22 immediately upon listing of eligible patients with HCC.

Anna Chiara Piscaglia, Vincenzo Arena, Stefano Passalacqua, Antonio Gasbarrini – 16 January 2015

Kazuaki Chayama, Kazuo Notsumata, Masayuki Kurosaki, Ken Sato, Lino Rodrigues, Carolyn Setze, Prajakta Badri, Tami Pilot‐Matias, Regis A. Vilchez, Hiromitsu Kumada – 16 January 2015 – Approximately 2 million Japanese individuals are infected with hepatitis C virus and are at risk for cirrhosis, end‐stage liver disease, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Patients in whom interferon (IFN)/ribavirin (RBV) therapy has failed remain at risk as effective therapeutic options are limited.

Kim Andresen, Kirsten Muri Boberg, Hege Marie Vedeld, Hilde Honne, Peter Jebsen, Merete Hektoen, Christopher A. Wadsworth, Ole Petter Clausen, Knut E.A. Lundin, Vemund Paulsen, Aksel Foss, Øystein Mathisen, Lars Aabakken, Erik Schrumpf, Ragnhild A. Lothe, Guro E. Lind – 16 January 2015 – Early detection of the highly aggressive malignancy cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) remains a challenge but has the potential to render the tumor curable by surgical removal. This study evaluates a biomarker panel for the diagnosis of CCA by DNA methylation analyses of biliary brush samples.

Marta Cavallin, Patrick S. Kamath, Manuela Merli, Silvano Fasolato, Pierluigi Toniutto, Francesco Salerno, Mauro Bernardi, Roberto Giulio Romanelli, Cosimo Colletta, Freddy Salinas, Antonio Di Giacomo, Lorenzo Ridola, Ezio Fornasiere, Paolo Caraceni, Filippo Morando, Salvatore Piano, Angelo Gatta, Paolo Angeli, for the Italian Association for the Study of the Liver Study Group on Hepatorenal Syndrome – 16 January 2015 – Hepatorenal syndrome (HRS), a serious complication of cirrhosis, is associated with high mortality without treatment.

Jian‐Hong Zhong, Le‐Qun Li – 16 January 2015

Sheida Moghadamrad, Kathy D. McCoy, Markus B. Geuking, Hans Sägesser, Jorum Kirundi, Andrew J. Macpherson, Andrea De Gottardi – 16 January 2015 – Intestinal bacterial flora may induce splanchnic hemodynamic and histological alterations that are associated with portal hypertension (PH). We hypothesized that experimental PH would be attenuated in the complete absence of intestinal bacteria. We induced prehepatic PH by partial portal vein ligation (PPVL) in germ‐free (GF) or mice colonized with altered Schaedler's flora (ASF).

Marta Cavallin, Patrick S. Kamath, Manuela Merli, Silvano Fasolato, Pierluigi Toniutto, Francesco Salerno, Mauro Bernardi, Roberto Giulio Romanelli, Cosimo Colletta, Freddy Salinas, Antonio Di Giacomo, Lorenzo Ridola, Ezio Fornasiere, Paolo Caraceni, Filippo Morando, Salvatore Piano, Angelo Gatta, Paolo Angeli, for the Italian Association for the Study of the Liver Study Group on Hepatorenal Syndrome – 16 January 2015 – Hepatorenal syndrome (HRS), a serious complication of cirrhosis, is associated with high mortality without treatment.

Ashley E. Stueck, Ian R. Wanless – 16 January 2015 – Repair of cirrhotic livers occurs, in part, by repopulation with hepatocytes through the stem/progenitor pathway. There remain many uncertainties regarding this pathway. Hepatocyte “buds” occurring in broad septa are hypothesized to be the anatomic manifestation of this pathway. Our purpose was to define a morphologic sequence of bud maturation to allow a quantitative measure of the importance of the stem/progenitor pathway in humans.

Alessandro Cucchetti, Matteo Cescon, Antonio Daniele Pinna – 16 January 2015