Matthias Hardtke‐Wolenski, Katja Fischer, Fatih Noyan, Jerome Schlue, Christine S. Falk, Maike Stahlhut, Norman Woller, Florian Kuehnel, Richard Taubert, Michael P. Manns, Elmar Jaeckel – 8 March 2013 – Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is defined as a chronic liver disease with loss of tolerance against liver tissue eventually leading to cirrhosis if left untreated. 80%‐90% of patients can be treated with a life‐long immunosuppression. Unfortunately, there are strong drug‐related side effects and steroid‐refractory patients.

Safi Dokmak, Béatrice Aussilhou, Jacques Belghiti – 8 March 2013

Eun‐Sook Park, Yong Kwang Park, Chan Young Shin, Seung Hwa Park, Sung Hyun Ahn, Doo Hyun Kim, Keo‐Heun Lim, So Young Kwon, Kwang Pyo Kim, Sung‐Il Yang, Baik L. Seong, Kyun‐Hwan Kim – 8 March 2013 – Liver regeneration after liver damage caused by toxins and pathogens is critical for liver homeostasis. Retardation of liver proliferation was reported in hepatitis B virus (HBV) X protein (HBx)‐transgenic mice. However, the underlying mechanism of the HBx‐mediated disturbance of liver regeneration is unknown.

Beverley Kok, Matthew R. Foxton, Christopher Clough, Debbie L. Shawcross – 7 March 2013

Hongping Xia, London Lucien P.J. Ooi, Kam M. Hui – 7 March 2013 – Tumor recurrence and metastases are the major obstacles to improving the prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). To identify novel risk factors associated with HCC recurrence and metastases, we have established a panel of recurrence‐associated microRNAs (miRNAs) by comparing miRNA expression in recurrent and nonrecurrent human HCC tissue samples using microarrays (recurrence is defined as recurrent disease occurring within a 2‐year time point of the original treatment).

Xin‐An Wang, Ran Zhang, Dingsheng Jiang, Wei Deng, Shumin Zhang, Shan Deng, Jinfeng Zhong, Tao Wang, Li‐Hua Zhu, Li Yang, Shufen Hong, Sen Guo, Ke Chen, Xiao‐Fei Zhang, Zhigang She, Yingjie Chen, Qinglin Yang, Xiao‐Dong Zhang, Hongliang Li – 7 March 2013 – Obesity is a calorie‐excessive state associated with high risk of diabetes, atherosclerosis, and certain types of tumors. Obesity may induce inflammation and insulin resistance (IR).

Piero Amodio, Chantal Bemeur, Roger Butterworth, Juan Cordoba, Akinobu Kato, Sara Montagnese, Misael Uribe, Hendrik Vilstrup, Marsha Y. Morgan – 7 March 2013 – Nitrogen metabolism plays a major role in the development of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) in patients with cirrhosis. Modulation of this relationship is key to the management of HE, but is not the only nutritional issue that needs to be addressed. The assessment of nutritional status in patients with cirrhosis is problematic.

Rajasekhar Tanikella, Michael B. Fallon – 7 March 2013

Rajasekhar Tanikella, Michael B. Fallon – 7 March 2013

George F. Mells, Greta Pells, Julia L. Newton, Andrew J. Bathgate, Andrew K. Burroughs, Michael A. Heneghan, James M. Neuberger, Darren B. Day, Samantha J. Ducker, Richard N. Sandford, Graeme J. Alexander, David E.J. Jones, UK‐PBC Consortium – 7 March 2013 – Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) has a complex clinical phenotype, with debate about the extent and specificity of frequently described systemic symptoms such as fatigue.