Dong Il Gwon, Kyu‐Bo Sung, Gi‐Young Ko, Hyun‐Ki Yoon, Sung‐Gyu Lee – 19 October 2010 – The purpose of this study was to evaluate the results of percutaneous transhepatic management of anastomotic biliary strictures using the dual catheter placement technique (2 drainage catheters inserted via single percutaneous tract). The protocol of this retrospective study was approved by the institutional review board of our institution and written informed consent was waived.

Yuichi Chihara, Hiroto Egawa, Tomomasa Tsuboi, Toru Oga, Tomohiro Handa, Kazuhiko Yamamoto, Michiaki Mishima, Koichi Tanaka, Shinji Uemoto, Kazuo Chin – 19 October 2010 – Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is defined as hypoxemia induced by intrapulmonary vascular dilations associated with liver disease. Although liver transplantation (LT) is the only effective therapy established for severe HPS, patients with a partial pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO2) less than 60 mm Hg have a poor prognosis. We treated a 4‐year‐old boy with HPS whose preoperative PaO2 level was 48.8 mm Hg.

Ricky H. Bhogal, Rupesh Sutaria, Simon C. Afford – 19 October 2010

Sara Montagnese, Anna Biancardi, Sami Schiff, Paolo Carraro, Vincenzo Carlà, Guido Mannaioni, Flavio Moroni, Natascia Tono, Paolo Angeli, Angelo Gatta, Piero Amodio – 18 October 2010 – The diagnosis of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) relies on clinical, neurophysiological, psychometric and laboratory variables. The relationships between such tests remain debated. The aim of this study was to determine the laboratory correlates/prognostic value of neurophysiological/psychometric abnormalities in patients with cirrhosis.

Gianfranco Alpini, Antonio Franchitto, Sharon DeMorrow, Paolo Onori, Eugenio Gaudio, Candace Wise, Heather Francis, Julie Venter, Shelley Kopriva, Romina Mancinelli, Guido Carpino, Franco Stagnitti, Yoshiyuki Ueno, Yuyan Han, Fanyin Meng, Shannon Glaser – 18 October 2010 – Small cholangiocytes proliferate via activation of calcium (Ca2+)‐dependent signaling in response to pathological conditions that trigger the damage of large cyclic adenosine monophosphate–dependent cholangiocytes.

Vlad Ratziu, Stephen Caldwell, Brent A. Neuschwander‐Tetri – 18 October 2010 – Insulin sensitizers are attractive candidate therapies for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis mainly because of the strong association between this disease and insulin resistance. This review provides a critical overview of the mechanisms of action, clinical trial results, and safety issues of metformin and glitazones in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. It also highlights methodological challenges for trial design and proposes endpoints for future proof of principle, registrational, and postmarketing trials.

Maria Serena Longhi, Munther J. Hussain, William W. Kwok, Giorgina Mieli‐Vergani, Yun Ma, Diego Vergani – 18 October 2010 – Effector CD4 and CD8 T cell immune responses to cytochrome P450IID6 (CYP2D6), the autoantigen of autoimmune hepatitis type 2 (AIH‐2), are permitted by a numerical and functional impairment of CD4posCD25high regulatory T cells (T‐regs).

Amy Dhirapong, Ana Lleo, Guo‐Xiang Yang, Koichi Tsuneyama, Robert Dunn, Marilyn Kehry, Thomas A. Packard, John C. Cambier, Fu‐Tong Liu, Keith Lindor, Ross L. Coppel, Aftab A. Ansari, M. Eric Gershwin – 18 October 2010 – Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is considered a model autoimmune disease due to the clinical homogeneity of patients and the classic hallmark of antimitochondrial antibodies (AMAs). Indeed, the presence of AMAs represents the most highly directed and specific autoantibody in autoimmune diseases. However, the contribution of B cells to the pathogenesis of PBC is unclear.

Shashikiran Donthamsetty, Vishakha S. Bhave, Corrine S. Kliment, William C. Bowen, Wendy M. Mars, Aaron W. Bell, Rachel E. Stewart, Anne Orr, Chuanyue Wu, George K. Michalopoulos – 18 October 2010 – TCBOPOP (1,4‐bis [2‐(3,5‐dichaloropyridyloxy)] benzene) an agonist of the constitutive androstane receptor (CAR), produces rapid hepatocyte hyperplasia and hepatomegaly in the absence of hepatic injury.

Eva Török, Marc Lutgehetmann, Jeanette Bierwolf, Stefan Melbeck, Jochen Düllmann, Bjoern Nashan, Peter X. Ma, Joerg M. Pollok – 11 October 2010 – Liver transplantation is an established treatment for acute and chronic liver disease. However, because of the shortage of donor organs, it does not fulfill the needs of all patients. Hepatocyte transplantation is promising as an alternative method for the treatment of end‐stage liver disease and as bridging therapy until liver transplantation. Our group has been working on the optimization of matrix‐based hepatocyte transplantation.