Use of sirolimus in liver transplant recipients with renal insufficiency: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Sumeet K. Asrani, Michael D. Leise, Colin P. West, M. Hassan Murad, Rachel A. Pedersen, Patricia J. Erwin, Jianmin Tian, Russell H. Wiesner, W. Ray Kim – 16 July 2010 – Sirolimus is used in patients with renal insufficiency after liver transplantation (LT) and especially in those with calcineurin inhibitor (CNI)–associated nephrotoxicity.

The Bcl‐xL inhibitor, ABT‐737, efficiently induces apoptosis and suppresses growth of hepatoma cells in combination with sorafenib

Hayato Hikita, Tetsuo Takehara, Satoshi Shimizu, Takahiro Kodama, Minoru Shigekawa, Kyoko Iwase, Atsushi Hosui, Takuya Miyagi, Tomohide Tatsumi, Hisashi Ishida, Wei Li, Tatsuya Kanto, Naoki Hiramatsu, Norio Hayashi – 16 July 2010 – Tumor cells are characterized by uncontrolled proliferation, often driven by activation of oncogenes, and apoptosis resistance.

Inaccuracies of creatinine and creatinine‐based equations in candidates for liver transplantation with low creatinine: Impact on the model for end‐stage liver disease score

Claire Francoz, Dominique Prié, Wael AbdelRazek, Richard Moreau, Ameet Mandot, Jacques Belghiti, Dominique Valla, François Durand – 16 July 2010 – Renal function has a significant impact on early mortality in patients with cirrhosis. However, creatinine and creatinine‐based equations are inaccurate markers of renal function in cirrhosis. The aim of this study was to reassess correlations between creatinine‐based equations and measured glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and to investigate the impact of inaccuracies on the Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score.

Survival and cost‐effectiveness analysis of competing strategies in the management of small hepatocellular carcinoma

Willscott E. Naugler, Amnon Sonnenberg – 16 July 2010 – The aim of the present study is to compare the survival rates and cost‐effectiveness of different treatment strategies for small (<2 cm) hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Markov chains are developed to model different management strategies for patients with compensated cirrhosis and small HCC. Probabilities of progression and survival and the likelihood of orthotopic liver transplantation are taken from the literature and incorporated into the models. As a starting population, 1000 patients are followed over a period of 10 years.

Early‐onset pneumonia after liver transplantation: Microbiological findings and therapeutic consequences

Emmanuel Weiss, Souhayl Dahmani, Frederic Bert, Sylvie Janny, Daniel Sommacale, Federica Dondero, Claire Francoz, Jacques Belghiti, Jean Mantz, Catherine Paugam‐Burtz – 16 July 2010 – Early‐onset hospital‐acquired pneumonia (E‐HAP) is one of the leading causes of sepsis and mortality after liver transplantation (LT). The appropriate antimicrobial therapy is crucially important for surviving sepsis in this context. The aim of this study was to analyze microbiological findings, associated factors, and optimal antibiotic regimens for E‐HAP after LT.

Defective bone morphogenic protein signaling underlies hepcidin deficiency in HFE hereditary hemochromatosis

John D. Ryan, Eleanor Ryan, Aurelie Fabre, Matthew W. Lawless, John Crowe – 30 June 2010 – Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) is a common inherited iron overload disorder. The vast majority of patients carry the missense Cys282Tyr mutation of the HFE gene. Hepcidin, the central regulator of iron homeostasis, is deficient in HH, leading to unchecked iron absorption and subsequent iron overload. The bone morphogenic protein (BMP)/small mothers against decapentaplegic (Smad) signaling cascade is central to the regulation of hepcidin.

Virologic response rates of weight‐based taribavirin versus ribavirin in treatment‐naive patients with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C

Fred Poordad, Eric Lawitz, Mitchell L. Shiffman, Tarek Hassanein, Andrew J. Muir, Bruce R. Bacon, Jamie Heise, Deanine Halliman, Eric Chun, Janet Hammond – 30 June 2010 – Ribavirin‐induced hemolytic anemia can prompt dose reductions and lower sustained virologic response (SVR) rates in the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C. The study aimed to determine if weight‐based dosing of taribavirin (TBV), an oral prodrug of ribavirin (RBV), demonstrated efficacy comparable to RBV while maintaining its previously demonstrated anemia advantage with fixed dose administration. A U.S.

I148M patatin‐like phospholipase domain‐containing 3 gene variant and severity of pediatric nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Luca Valenti, Anna Alisi, Enrico Galmozzi, Andrea Bartuli, Benedetta Del Menico, Arianna Alterio, Paola Dongiovanni, Silvia Fargion, Valerio Nobili – 30 June 2010 – Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease in children. Genetic variability, which is a main player in NAFLD, is especially characterized by polymorphisms in genes involved in the development and progression of the disease to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

Randomized trial of peginterferon alfa‐2b and ribavirin for 48 or 72 weeks in patients with hepatitis C virus genotype 1 and slow virologic response

Maria Buti, Yoav Lurie, Natalia G. Zakharova, Natalia P. Blokhina, Andrzej Horban, Gerlinde Teuber, Christoph Sarrazin, Ligita Balciuniene, Saya V. Feinman, Rab Faruqi, Lisa D. Pedicone, Rafael Esteban, for the SUCCESS Study Investigators – 30 June 2010 – The benefit of extending treatment duration with peginterferon (PEG‐IFN) and ribavirin (RBV) from 48 weeks to 72 weeks for patients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 infection has not been well established.

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