Deepak Joshi, John O'Grady, Chris Taylor, Nigel Heaton, Kosh Agarwal – 11 May 2011 – With the successful introduction of combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is now regarded as a chronic illness with excellent long‐term outcomes. However, chronic exposure to viral etiologies (ie, chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C) and drug‐induced toxicity secondary to cART have resulted in increasing rates of mortality and morbidity due to end‐stage liver disease.

Anna S. Lok, James E. Everhart – 11 May 2011

Chibo Liu – 11 May 2011

Sang‐Oh Lee, Robert A. Brown, Seung H. Kang, Rima C. Abdel‐Massih, Raymund R. Razonable – 11 May 2011 – Toll‐like receptor 2 (TLR2) is an immune sensor for gram‐positive bacterial cell wall components. Single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the TLR2 gene that impair its function may, therefore, influence the risk and outcomes of gram‐positive bacterial infections.

Paul D. Greig, Andreas Geier, Anthony M. D'Alessandro, Michael Campbell, Linda Wright – 11 May 2011

Rosamond Rhodes, Sourabh Aggarwal, Thomas D. Schiano – 11 May 2011 – Liver transplantation (LT) programs encounter patients with fulminant hepatic failure resulting from suicide attempts involving acetaminophen or multidrug ingestion. Members of transplant teams often have different opinions about whether these patients should be offered transplantation. Disagreements can delay the transfer of these patients to a transplant facility and negatively affect their management.

Roeland Zoutendijk, Jurriën G. P. Reijnders, Ashley Brown, Fabien Zoulim, David Mutimer, Katja Deterding, Jörg Petersen, Wolf Peter Hofmann, Maria Buti, Teresa Santantonio, Florian van Bömmel, Pierre Pradat, Ye Oo, Marc Luetgehetmann, Thomas Berg, Bettina E. Hansen, Heiner Wedemeyer, Harry L. A. Janssen, for the VIRGIL Surveillance Study Group – 11 May 2011 – Entecavir (ETV) is a potent inhibitor of viral replication in nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA)‐naïve chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients.

Melissa J. Parsons, Douglas R. Green – 11 May 2011

Takumi Kawaguchi, Namiki Izumi, Michael R. Charlton, Michio Sata – 11 May 2011 – Branched‐chain amino acids (BCAAs) are a group of essential amino acids comprising valine, leucine, and isoleucine. A low ratio of plasma BCAAs to aromatic amino acids is a physiological hallmark of liver cirrhosis, and BCAA supplementation was originally devised with the intention of normalizing amino acid profiles and nutritional status.

Pietro Invernizzi – 11 May 2011 – Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is an autoimmune biliary disease characterized by injury of small and medium size bile ducts, eventually leading to liver cirrhosis and death. Although the causes remain enigmatic, recent evidence has strengthened the importance of genetic factors in determining the susceptibility to the disease.