Risk factors and outcomes of failed endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in liver transplant recipients with anastomotic biliary strictures: A case‐control study

Domingo Balderramo, Oriol Sendino, Marta Burrel, Maria Isabel Real, Annabel Blasi, Graciela Martinez‐Palli, Josep M. Bordas, Juan Carlos Garcia‐Valdecasas, Antoni Rimola, Miguel Navasa, Josep Llach, Andres Cardenas – 4 January 2012 – Anastomotic strictures (ASs) of the biliary duct after liver transplantation (LT) are primarily managed with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), but in some cases, this fails because of difficulties in passing the strictures.

Mortality associated with carbapenem‐resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae infections in liver transplant recipients

Jayant S. Kalpoe, Edith Sonnenberg, Stephanie H. Factor, Juan del Rio Martin, Thomas Schiano, Gopi Patel, Shirish Huprikar – 4 January 2012 – Resistant bacterial infections are important causes of morbidity and mortality after liver transplantation (LT). This was a retrospective cohort study evaluating the outcomes associated with carbapenem‐resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) infections after LT. In a 2005‐2006 cohort of 175 consecutive LT recipients, 91 infection episodes were observed in 61 patients (35%). The mortality rate 1 year after LT was 18% (32/175).

Effects of ethnicity and socioeconomic status on survival and severity of fibrosis in liver transplant recipients with hepatitis C virus

Elizabeth C. Verna, Rosa Valadao, Erica Farrand, Elsa M. Pichardo, Jennifer C. Lai, Norah A. Terrault, Robert S. Brown – 4 January 2012 – The ethnicity and socioeconomic status of the host may affect the progression of hepatitis C virus (HCV). We aimed to compare survival and fibrosis progression in Hispanic white (HW) and non‐Hispanic white (NHW) recipients of liver transplantation (LT) with HCV. All HW and NHW patients with HCV who underwent transplantation between January 2000 and December 2007 at 2 centers were retrospectively assessed.

Mycophenolic acid augments interferon‐stimulated gene expression and inhibits hepatitis C Virus infection in vitro and in vivo

Qiuwei Pan, Petra E. de Ruiter, Herold J. Metselaar, Jaap Kwekkeboom, Jeroen de Jonge, Hugo W. Tilanus, Harry L.A. Janssen, Luc J.W. van der Laan – 27 December 2011 – Mycophenolic acid (MPA) is a highly effective immunosuppressant that has broad antiviral activity against different viruses and can act in synergy with interferon‐α (IFN‐α) on hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication. MPA is a potent inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) inhibitor but the antiviral mechanisms are less understood.

Hedgehog pathway activation parallels histologic severity of injury and fibrosis in human nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Cynthia D. Guy, Ayako Suzuki, Marzena Zdanowicz, Manal F. Abdelmalek, James Burchette, Aynur Unalp, Anna Mae Diehl, for the NASH CRN – 27 December 2011 – The Hedgehog (HH)‐signaling pathway mediates several processes that are deregulated in patients with metabolic syndrome (e.g., fat mass regulation, vascular/endothelial remodeling, liver injury and repair, and carcinogenesis). The severity of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and metabolic syndrome generally correlate.

Elastin accumulation is regulated at the level of degradation by macrophage metalloelastase (MMP‐12) during experimental liver fibrosis

Antonella Pellicoro, Rebecca L. Aucott, Prakash Ramachandran, Andrew J. Robson, Jonathan A. Fallowfield, Victoria K. Snowdon, Stephen N. Hartland, Madeleine Vernon, Jeremy S. Duffield, R. Christopher Benyon, Stuart J. Forbes, John P. Iredale – 27 December 2011 – Elastin has been linked to maturity of liver fibrosis. To date, the regulation of elastin secretion and its degradation in liver fibrosis has not been characterized. The aim of this work was to define elastin accumulation and the role of the paradigm elastase macrophage metalloelastase (MMP‐12) in its turnover during fibrosis.

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