Alessia Bersagliere, Iolanda D. Raduazzo, Mariateresa Nardi, Sami Schiff, Angelo Gatta, Piero Amodio, Peter Achermann, Sara Montagnese – 12 October 2011 – In patients with cirrhosis, hyperammonemia and hepatic encephalopathy are common after gastrointestinal bleeding and can be simulated by an amino acid challenge (AAC), or the administration of a mixture of amino acids mimicking the composition of hemoglobin. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical, psychometric, and wake‐/sleep‐electroencephalogram (EEG) correlates of induced hyperammonemia.

Coral Ho, Chunmei Wang, Sandra Mattu, Giulia Destefanis, Sara Ladu, Salvatore Delogu, Julia Armbruster, Lingling Fan, Susie A. Lee, Lijie Jiang, Frank Dombrowski, Matthias Evert, Xin Chen, Diego F. Calvisi – 12 October 2011 – Activation of v‐akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog (AKT) and Ras pathways is often implicated in carcinogenesis. However, the oncogenic cooperation between these two cascades in relationship to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development remains undetermined.

Christian L. Roth, Clinton T. Elfers, Dianne P. Figlewicz, Susan J. Melhorn, Gregory J. Morton, Andrew Hoofnagle, Matthew M. Yeh, James E. Nelson, Kris V. Kowdley – 12 October 2011 – Childhood obesity is associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Recent studies have found associations between vitamin D deficiency (VDD), insulin resistance (IR), and NAFLD among overweight children.

Chen‐Hsin Liao, Chau‐Ting Yeh, Ya‐Hui Huang, Sheng‐Ming Wu, Hsiang‐Cheng Chi, Ming‐Ming Tsai, Chung‐Ying Tsai, Chia‐Jung Liao, Yi‐Hsin Tseng, Yang‐Hsiang Lin, Cheng‐Yi Chen, I‐Hsiao Chung, Wan‐Li Cheng, Wei‐Jan Chen, Kwang‐Huei Lin – 12 October 2011 – Thyroid hormone (T3) mediates cellular growth, development, and differentiation by binding to the nuclear thyroid hormone receptor (TR). Recent studies suggest that long‐term hypothyroidism is associated with human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) independent from other major HCC risk factors.

Joris J. Blok, Andries E. Braat, Rene Adam, Andrew K. Burroughs, Hein Putter, Nigel G. Kooreman, Axel O. Rahmel, Robert J. Porte, Xavier Rogiers, Jan Ringers, for the European Liver Intestine Transplant Association and the Eurotransplant Liver Intestine Advisory Committee – 10 October 2011 – In Eurotransplant, more than 50% of liver allografts come from extended criteria donors (ECDs). However, not every ECD is the same. The limits of their use are being explored.

Constance E. Ruhl, James E. Everhart – 10 October 2011 – Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) is an important test for liver disease, yet there is no generally accepted upper limit of normal (ULN) in the United States. Furthermore, the ability of ALT to differentiate persons with and without liver disease is uncertain. We examined cut‐offs for ALT for their ability to discriminate between persons with positive hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA and those at low risk for liver injury in the U.S. population. Among adult participants in the 1999‐2008 U.S.

Irinel Popescu, Simona O. Dima – 10 October 2011 – Domino liver transplantation (DLT) has emerged as a strategy for increasing the number of liver grafts available: morphologically normal livers from donors with metabolic diseases can be used for select recipients with hepatocellular carcinoma (usually outside the Milan criteria). Familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy (FAP) is the most common indication for DLT.

Jillian S. Sullivan, Shikha S. Sundaram, Zhaoxing Pan, Ronald J. Sokol – 10 October 2011 – The objective of this study was to determine the impact of parenteral nutrition (PN) on the outcomes of biliary atresia (BA) patients listed for liver transplantation (LT). We retrospectively reviewed the charts of all BA patients at our institution who underwent hepatoportoenterostomy and were listed for LT before the age of 36 months between 1990 and 2010. The initiation of PN was based on clinical indications. Twenty‐five PN subjects and 22 non‐PN subjects (74% female) were studied.

Roberto Montalti, Antonio Mimmo, Gianluca Rompianesi, Valentina Serra, Nicola Cautero, Roberto Ballarin, Nicola De Ruvo, Robert Cunningham Gerring, Giorgio Enrico Gerunda, Fabrizio Di Benedetto – 10 October 2011 – Incisional hernias (IHs) are common complications after liver transplantation (LT) with a reported incidence of 1.7% to 34.3%. The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the risk factors for IH development after LT with a focus on the role of immunosuppressive therapy during the first month after LT.

Jeffrey W. Molloy, Christopher J. Calcagno, Christopher D. Williams, Frances J. Jones, Dawn M. Torres, Stephen A. Harrison – 10 October 2011 – Coffee caffeine consumption (CC) is associated with reduced hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic liver diseases, such as hepatitis C. The association of CC with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has not been established. The aim of this study was to correlate CC with the prevalence and severity of NAFLD.