Anna S. Lok, James E. Everhart, Raymond T. Chung, Hae‐Young Kim, Gregory T. Everson, John C. Hoefs, Joel K. Greenson, Richard K. Sterling, Karen L. Lindsay, William M. Lee, Adrian M. Di Bisceglie, Herbert L. Bonkovsky, Marc G. Ghany, Chihiro Morishima, HALT‐C Trial Group – 28 May 2009 – Hepatic steatosis is a common histologic feature in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) but there are no large longitudinal studies describing the progression of steatosis in CHC.

James D. Perkins – 28 May 2009 – Patients with end‐stage liver disease (ESLD) are predisposed to bleeding complications due to thrombocytopenia, reduced synthesis of coagulation factors, and increased fibrinolytic activity. The exact incidence of vascular access site and bleeding complications related to cardiac catheterization in this group remains unknown. Eighty‐eight consecutive patients with ESLD who underwent left‐sided cardiac catheterization from August 2004 to February 2007 were identified.

Frans van der Heide, Gerard Dijkstra, Robert J. Porte, Jan H. Kleibeuker, Elizabeth B. Haagsma – 28 May 2009 – Long‐term morbidity and survival after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) are to a large degree determined by cardiovascular disease and cancer. Tobacco use is a well‐known risk factor for both. The aim of this study was to examine smoking behavior before and after OLT and to define groups at risk for resuming tobacco use after OLT. In addition, we looked for a relation between smoking and morbidity after OLT.

Daniel G. Maluf, Erick B. Edwards, R. Todd Stravitz, H. Myron Kauffman – 28 May 2009 – We have investigated the impact of the donor risk index (DRI) on the outcome of hepatitis C virus (HCV)–infected patients undergoing liver transplantation (LTx). Retrospective analysis was performed from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network database (January 1, 2000 to June, 2006). The DRI was calculated as described by Feng et al. (Am J Transplant 2006;6:783–790). Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) exceptions were excluded from the analysis.

Ester Vanni, Elisabetta Bugianesi – 28 May 2009

Anand N. Bhatt, David H. Adams – 28 May 2009

Yasuji Arase – 28 May 2009

Anthony W. Castleberry, David A. Geller, Allan Tsung – 28 May 2009

Kerry‐Lee Milner, David van der Poorten, Aimin Xu, Elisabetta Bugianesi, James G. Kench, Karen S. L. Lam, Donald J. Chisholm, Jacob George – 28 May 2009 – Several circulating cytokines are increased with obesity and may combine with the influence of visceral fat to generate insulin resistance, inflammation, and fibrosis in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Akihito Inatsu, Manabu Kinoshita, Hiroyuki Nakashima, Jun Shimizu, Daizoh Saitoh, Seiichi Tamai, Shuhji Seki – 28 May 2009 – Although C‐reactive protein (CRP) is a representative acute‐phase protein produced by hepatocytes, the role of CRP in liver innate immunity remains unclear.