Marc L. Weber, Hassan N. Ibrahim, John R. Lake – 30 July 2012 – Major progress has been made in the field of liver transplantation since the first procedure was performed nearly 50 years ago. Despite these improvements, renal dysfunction before and after liver transplantation remains a major complicating factor associated with increased health care costs, morbidity, and mortality. Creatinine‐based estimates of renal function are inaccurate in the setting of end‐stage liver disease and often lead to underdiagnosis and late intervention.

Zhenhua Hu, Wei Wang, Zhiwei Li, Sunyi Ye, Shu‐Sen Zheng – 30 July 2012 – Salvage liver transplantation (SLT), or liver transplantation after liver resection (LR), has been performed after primary LR for many years. However, the true outcomes and risks of SLT versus primary liver transplantation (PLT) remain unclear. We performed a systematic review and meta‐analysis to evaluate the survival rate of SLT recipients and the incidence of postoperative complications. Among 2799 screened references, 7 eligible studies were identified.

Ying‐Ying Yang, Yi‐Tsau Huang, Tzung‐Yan Lee, Che‐Chang Chan, Yi‐Chen Yeh, Kuei‐Chuan Lee, Han‐Chieh Lin – 30 July 2012 – During liver transplantation, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) aggravates ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury by activating various kinases and subsequently releasing cytokines and chemokines. Nonetheless, the effect of the multikinase inhibitor sorafenib on IR liver injury in rats with NASH has never been explored. Our study was designed to determine this effect and associated mechanisms in NASH rats.

Naohisa Kuriyama, Shuji Isaji, Masashi Kishiwada, Ichiro Ohsawa, Takashi Hamada, Shugo Mizuno, Masanobu Usui, Hiroyuki Sakurai, Masami Tabata, Tomomi Yamada – 28 July 2012 – The problems associated with small‐for‐size liver grafts (ie, high mortality rates, postoperative complications, and acute rejection) remain critical issues in partial orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). In association with partial OLT, splenectomy (SP) is a procedure used to reduce the portal pressure. However, the precise effects of SP on partial OLT have been unclear.

Joanna Agnes Leithead, Matthew R. Smith, Luke B. Materacki, Vandana M. Sagar, Bridget K. Gunson, Simon R. Bramhall, David J. Mutimer, Tahir Shah – 28 July 2012 – Liver retransplantation for late hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT) is considered the treatment of choice for select patients. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of data to aid decision making in this setting.

Daniela P. Ladner, Anton I. Skaro, Michael M. Abecassis – 28 July 2012

Massimo Pinzani – 25 July 2012 – “Cirrhosis” is a morphologic term that has been used for almost 200 years to denote the end stage of a variety of chronic liver diseases. The term implies a condition with adverse prognosis due to the well‐known complications of portal hypertension, hepatocellular carcinoma, and liver failure. However, recent advances in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic liver diseases have changed the natural history of cirrhosis significantly.

Marion Maurel, Jean Rosenbaum – 25 July 2012 – Drug‐induced liver injury (DILI) limits the development and application of many therapeutic compounds and presents major challenges to the pharmaceutical industry and clinical medicine. Acetaminophen‐containing compounds are among the most frequently prescribed drugs and are also the most common cause of DILI. Here we describe a pharmacological strategy that targets gap junction communication to prevent amplification of fulminant hepatic failure and acetaminophen‐induced hepatotoxicity.

Sandra Pommey, Bo Lu, Jennifer McRae, John Stagg, Prue Hill, Evelyn Salvaris, Simon C. Robson, Anthony J.F. d'Apice, Peter J. Cowan, Karen M. Dwyer – 24 July 2012 – Ischemia‐reperfusion injury (IRI) is a major limiting event for successful liver transplantation, and CD4+ T cells and invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells have been implicated in promoting IRI. We hypothesized that hepatic overexpression of CD39, an ectonucleotidase with antiinflammatory functions, will protect liver grafts after prolonged cold ischemia.

Tammy T. Hshieh, Vinay Sundaram, Robert M. Najarian, Douglas W. Hanto, Seth J. Karp, Michael P. Curry – 24 July 2012