Waitlist survival of patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis in the model for end‐stage liver disease era

David Goldberg, Benjamin French, Arwin Thomasson, K. Rajender Reddy, Scott D. Halpern – 11 August 2011 – The ability of the Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score to capture the urgency of transplantation may not be generalizable to patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) because these patients face unique risks of death or removal from the liver transplant waitlist due to disease‐specific complications (eg, repeated bouts of bacterial cholangitis and cholangiocarcinoma).

Impact of calcineurin inhibitors with or without interferon on hepatitis C virus titers in a chimeric mouse model of hepatitis C virus infection

Norman M. Kneteman, Sonal Asthana, Jamie Lewis, Chelcey Dibben, Donna Douglas, Mahra Nourbakhsh, Lorne J. Tyrrell, Garry Lund – 11 August 2011 – Cyclosporine A (CSA) has potent effects against hepatitis C virus (HCV) in vitro, but its clinical efficacy after liver transplantation (LT) is uncertain. We evaluated the impact of CSA and tacrolimus (TAC) with or without concomitant interferon (IFN) therapy on serum HCV titers in a chimeric mouse model of HCV infection. Six groups of HCV‐infected mice received only the vehicle, IFN, CSA, CSA and IFN, TAC, or TAC and IFN for 4 weeks.

Optimizing cost‐effectiveness in perioperative care for liver transplantation: A model for low‐ to medium‐income countries

Karina Rando, Claus U. Niemann, Pilar Taura, John Klinck – 11 August 2011 – Although liver transplantation (LT) is a highly effective treatment, it has been considered too costly for publicly funded health systems in many countries with low to medium average incomes. However, with economic growth and improving results, some governments are reconsidering this position. Cost‐effectiveness data for LT are limited, especially in perioperative care, and the techniques and costs vary widely between centers without overt differences in outcomes.

Late‐onset carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1 deficiency in an adult cured by liver transplantation

Timothy R. Bates, Barry D. Lewis, John R. Burnett, Kenji So, Andrew Mitchell, Luc Delriviere, Gary P. Jeffrey – 11 August 2011 – Urea cycle disorders (UCDs) are rare causes of hyperammonemic encephalopathy in adults. Most UCDs present in childhood and, if unrecognized, are rapidly fatal. Affected individuals who survive to adulthood may remain undiagnosed because of clinicians' unawareness of the condition or atypical presentations. We describe the case of a 49‐year‐old man who initially presented with a stroke and developed hyperammonemic encephalopathy over a period of 8 months.

Effect of intermittent hepatic inflow occlusion with the Pringle maneuver during donor hepatectomy in adult living donor liver transplantation with right hemiliver grafts: A prospective, randomized controlled study

Jae Berm Park, Jae‐Won Joh, Sung‐Joo Kim, Choon‐Hyuck David Kwon, Jae Min Chun, Jong Man Kim, Ju Ik Moon, Suk‐Koo Lee – 11 August 2011 – To evaluate the effects of intermittent hepatic inflow occlusion (IHIO) during donor hepatectomy for living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) in recipients and donors, we performed a single‐center, open‐label, prospective, parallel, randomized controlled study. Adult donor‐recipient pairs undergoing LDLT with right hemiliver grafts were randomized into IHIO and control groups (1:1). In the IHIO group, IHIO was performed during donor hepatectomy.

The Australia antigen and role of the late Philadelphia general hospital in reducing post‐transfusion hepatitis and sequelae

John R. Senior, W. Thomas London, Alton I. Sutnick – 1 August 2011 – Baruch Blumberg, who received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of the Australia antigen, died on April 5, 2011. Arguably, that discovery has been the most important advance in the field of Hepatology. It led to the virtual elimination of transfusion related hepatitis B in most parts of the world and was essential to the identification of hepatitis A, C, D and E viruses. Credit for this is due Dr. Blumberg and teams in Philadelphia and Tokyo. In lieu of an Associate Editor commentary, Drs.

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