Themes of liver transplantation

Thomas E. Starzl, John J. Fung – 23 May 2010 – Liver transplantation was the product of five interlocking themes. These began in 1958‐1959 with canine studies of then theoretical hepatotrophic molecules in portal venous blood (Theme I) and with the contemporaneous parallel development of liver and multivisceral transplant models (Theme II). Further Theme I investigations showed that insulin was the principal, although not the only, portal hepatotrophic factor.

Drug‐induced autoimmune hepatitis: Clinical characteristics and prognosis

Einar Björnsson, Jayant Talwalkar, Sombat Treeprasertsuk, Patrick S. Kamath, Naoki Takahashi, Schuyler Sanderson, Matthias Neuhauser, Keith Lindor – 23 May 2010 – Drug‐induced autoimmune hepatitis (DIAIH) has been reported to be caused by several drugs. There is a lack of data comparing these patients with other patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). A search was performed using the Mayo Clinic diagnostic medical index for AIH patients and DIAIH patients identified over 10 years. Individuals with overlap syndromes and decompensated liver disease were excluded.

Increased fructose consumption is associated with fibrosis severity in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Manal F. Abdelmalek, Ayako Suzuki, Cynthia Guy, Aynur Unalp‐Arida, Ryan Colvin, Richard J. Johnson, Anna Mae Diehl, for the Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Clinical Research Network – 23 May 2010 – The rising incidence of obesity and diabetes coincides with a marked increase in fructose consumption. Fructose consumption is higher in individuals with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) than in age‐matched and body mass index (BMI)‐matched controls.

Treatment with the leukotriene inhibitor montelukast for 10 days attenuates portal hypertension in rat liver cirrhosis

Christian J. Steib, Manfred Bilzer, Mark op den Winkel, Susanne Pfeiler, Anna C. Hartmann, Martin Hennenberg, Burkhard Göke, Alexander L. Gerbes – 23 May 2010 – The mechanisms underlying intrahepatic vasoconstriction are not fully elucidated. Here we investigated the Kupffer cell (KC)‐dependent increase in portal pressure by way of actions of vasoconstrictive cysteinyl leukotrienes (Cys‐LTs). Liver cirrhosis was induced in rats by bile duct ligation (BDL for 4 weeks; controls: sham‐operation) and thioacetamide application (18 weeks).

Causality assessment in drug‐induced liver injury using a structured expert opinion process: Comparison to the Roussel‐Uclaf causality assessment method

Don C. Rockey, Leonard B. Seeff, James Rochon, James Freston, Naga Chalasani, Maurizio Bonacini, Robert J. Fontana, Paul H. Hayashi, for the US Drug‐Induced Liver Injury Network – 23 May 2010 – Drug‐induced liver injury (DILI) is largely a diagnosis of exclusion and is therefore challenging. The US Drug‐Induced Liver Injury Network (DILIN) prospective study used two methods to assess DILI causality: a structured expert opinion process and the Roussel‐Uclaf Causality Assessment Method (RUCAM).

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