Pathological functions of interleukin‐22 in chronic liver inflammation and fibrosis with hepatitis B virus infection by promoting T helper 17 cell recruitment

Juanjuan Zhao, Zheng Zhang, Yan Luan, Zhengsheng Zou, Yanling Sun, Yonggang Li, Lei Jin, Chunbao Zhou, Junliang Fu, Bin Gao, Yangxin Fu, Fu‐Sheng Wang – 29 October 2013 – It is well established that interleukin (IL)‐22 has hepatoprotective and antifibrotic functions in acute liver injury models; however, its function in patients with liver fibrosis and liver cirrhosis (LC) remains obscure.

Outcomes of long storage times for cryopreserved vascular grafts in outflow reconstruction in living donor liver transplantation

Chih‐Chi Wang, Salvador Lopez‐Valdes, Ting‐Lung Lin, Anthony Yap, Chee‐Chien Yong, Wei‐Feng Li, Shih‐Ho Wang, Chih‐Che Lin, Yueh‐Wei Liu, Tsan‐Shiun Lin, Allan M. Concejero, Hock‐Liew Eng, Douglas Henry, Yu‐Fan Cheng, Bruno Jawan, Chao‐Long Chen – 29 October 2013 – The outflow reconstruction of the right anterior sector in a right liver graft (RLG) with cryopreserved vascular grafts (CVGs) is crucial for preventing graft congestion in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). The impact of the duration of cryopreservation has not been evaluated so far.

Assessment of current criteria for primary nonresponse in chronic hepatitis B patients receiving entecavir therapy

Young‐Joo Yang, Ju Hyun Shim, Kang Mo Kim, Young‐Suk Lim, Han Chu Lee – 29 October 2013 – A primary nonresponse to oral drugs against hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a generally accepted criterion for interrupting treatment. We investigated whether the concept of primary nonresponse suggested by current American (AASLD) and European (EASL) guidelines is appropriate for treatment with entecavir (ETV). The study included 1,254 treatment‐naïve patients who had pretreatment HBV DNA levels of >2,000 IU/mL and received ETV 0.5 mg/day for over 6 months.

Ethical considerations surrounding survival benefit–based liver allocation

Eric J. Keller, Paul Y. Kwo, Paul R. Helft – 26 October 2013 – The disparity between the demand for and supply of donor livers has continued to grow over the last 2 decades, and this has placed greater weight on the need for efficient and effective liver allocation. Although the use of extended criteria donors has shown great potential, it remains unregulated. A survival benefit–based model was recently proposed to answer calls to increase efficiency and reduce futile transplants.

Can liver transplantation provide the statistical cure?

Alessandro Cucchetti, Alessandro Vitale, Matteo Cescon, Martina Gambato, Lorenzo Maroni, Matteo Ravaioli, Giorgio Ercolani, Patrizia Burra, Umberto Cillo, Antonio D. Pinna – 26 October 2013 – Liver transplantation (LT) represents the only chance of long‐term survival for patients with end‐stage liver disease. When the mortality rate for transplant patients returns to the same level as that for the general population, they can be considered statistically cured. However, cure models in the setting of LT have never been applied.

Is genotype 3 of the hepatitis C virus the new villain?

Nicolas Goossens, Francesco Negro – 24 October 2013 – Genotype 3 of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been long considered an easy‐to‐treat infection, with higher cure rates (∼70%) than other viral genotypes with the standard combination of pegylated interferon‐α and ribavirin. However, the relative insensitivity of this genotype to most protease inhibitors and the recent unexpected data on decreased effectiveness of sofosbuvir have raised questions on how to achieve universal cure, a goal that seems reasonable for other genotypes.

Is genotype 3 of the hepatitis C virus the new villain?

Nicolas Goossens, Francesco Negro – 24 October 2013 – Genotype 3 of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been long considered an easy‐to‐treat infection, with higher cure rates (∼70%) than other viral genotypes with the standard combination of pegylated interferon‐α and ribavirin. However, the relative insensitivity of this genotype to most protease inhibitors and the recent unexpected data on decreased effectiveness of sofosbuvir have raised questions on how to achieve universal cure, a goal that seems reasonable for other genotypes.

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