Hiroyuki Sugimoto, Koichi Kato, Masashi Hirota, Shin Takeda, Hideya Kamei, Taro Nakamura, Tetsuya Kiuchi, Akimasa Nakao – 28 August 2009 – To elucidate the role of Doppler hepatic hemodynamic parameters as surrogate markers of acute rejection (AR) after live donor liver transplantation (LDLT), serial Doppler measurements were prospectively performed during the first 2 weeks after LDLT to compare the longitudinal hepatic hemodynamic changes between patients with histologically proven AR and patients without histologically proven AR.

Feng Liu, Zhi‐Da Liu, Nan Wu, Xu Cong, Ran Fei, Hong‐Song Chen, Lai Wei – 28 August 2009 – Cirrhosis is the most common end stage of liver diseases, and there are no effective treatment methods. Here we evaluated the effect of endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) transplantation from rat bone marrow (BM) on the development of cirrhosis induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). Ex vivo generated, characterized, and cultivated rat BM–derived EPCs were identified by their vasculogenic properties in vitro.

Hani P. Grewal, Darrin L. Willingham, Justin Nguyen, Winston R. Hewitt, Bucin C. Taner, Danielle Cornell, Barry G. Rosser, Andrew P. Keaveny, Jamie Aranda‐Michel, Raj Satyanarayana, Denise Harnois, Rolland C. Dickson, David J. Kramer, Christopher B. Hughes – 28 August 2009 – The use of donation after cardiac death (DCD) donors may provide a valuable source of organs for liver transplantation. Concerns regarding primary nonfunction (PNF) and intrahepatic biliary stricture (IHBSs) have limited the enthusiasm for their use.

Santos Jiménez‐Galanes, Marchán Juan Carlos Meneu‐Diaz, Almudena Moreno Elola‐Olaso, Baltasar Pérez‐Saborido, Fundora‐Suarez Yiliam, Alberto Gimeno Calvo, Manuel Abradelo Usera, Mercedes Catalán González, Juan Carlos Montejo González, Enrique Moreno González – 28 August 2009 – Because of the organ shortage, non–heart‐beating donors have been proposed as a possible source of grafts for orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT).

Natalie Bzowej, Steven Han, Bulent Degertekin, Emmet B. Keeffe, Sukru Emre, Robert Brown, Rajender Reddy, Anna S. Lok, National Institutes of Health Hepatitis B Virus Orthotopic Liver Transplantation Study Group – 28 August 2009 – Several previous studies found that Asians transplanted for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection had worse post‐transplant outcomes than Caucasians. Data on post‐transplant outcomes of African Americans and waitlist outcomes of Asian Americans and African Americans with hepatitis B are scant.

James K. Pine, Amer Aldouri, Alistair L. Young, Mervyn H. Davies, Magdy Attia, Giles J. Toogood, Stephen G. Pollard, J. P. A. Lodge, K. R. Prasad – 28 August 2009 – Grafts from donation after cardiac death (DCD) donors are used to increase the number of organs available for liver transplantation. There is concern that warm ischemia may impair graft function. We compared our DCD recipients with a case‐matched group of donation after brain death (DBD) recipients. Between January 2002 and April 2008, 39 DCD grafts were transplanted.

Pratima Sharma, Kathy Welch, Richard Eikstadt, Jorge A. Marrero, Robert J. Fontana, Anna S. Lok – 28 August 2009 – The proportion of patients undergoing liver transplantation (LT) with renal insufficiency has significantly increased in the Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) era. This study was designed to determine the incidence and predictors of post‐LT chronic renal failure (CRF) and its effect on patient survival in the MELD era. Outcomes of 221 adult LT recipients who had LT between February 2002 and February 2007 were reviewed retrospectively.

Peter G. Stock, John Fung – 28 August 2009

Javier Murillas, Antonio Rimola, Montserrat Laguno, Elisa de Lazzari, Javier Rascón, Fernando Agüero, José L. Blanco, Eduardo Moitinho, Asunción Moreno, José M. Miró, ESLD‐HIV Working Group Investigators – 28 August 2009 – End‐stage liver disease (ESLD) has become the main cause of mortality in patients coinfected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B virus or hepatitis C virus in developed countries. The aim of this study was to describe the natural history of and prognostic factors for ESLD, with particular attention paid to features affecting liver transplantation.

Nghi B. Ha, Nghiem B. Ha, Ruel T. Garcia, Huy N. Trinh, Andrew A. Vu, Huy A. Nguyen, Khanh K. Nguyen, Brian S. Levitt, Mindie H. Nguyen – 27 August 2009 – Renal dysfunction has been reported in patients treated with adefovir dipivoxil (ADV); however, its incidence and clinical importance may be underappreciated given the lack of long‐term follow‐up and data outside of a clinical trial setting.