Yun Ku Cho, Jae Kyun Kim, Mi Young Kim, Hyunchul Rhim, Joon Koo Han – 28 January 2009 – According to the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases guidelines, percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) is a safe and highly effective treatment for small hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) and should be the standard against which any new therapy is compared. The primary purpose of this study was to identify survival benefit of any percutaneous ablation therapy as compared with PEI in the treatment of patients with unresectable HCC.

Dou‐Sheng Bai, Zhi Dai, Jian Zhou, Yin‐Kun Liu, Shuang‐Jian Qiu, Chang‐Jun Tan, Ying‐Hong Shi, Cheng Huang, Zheng Wang, Yi‐Feng He, Jia Fan – 28 January 2009 – Liver transplantation (LT) is one of the best therapeutic options for nonresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Unfortunately, some HCC patients succumb to the disease after LT, which reduces long‐ and medium‐term survival.

Patrick G. Northup, Michael M. Abecassis, Michael J. Englesbe, Jean C. Emond, Vanessa D. Lee, George J. Stukenborg, Lan Tong, Carl L. Berg, Adult‐to‐Adult Living Donor Liver Transplantation Cohort Study Group – 28 January 2009 – Using outcomes data from the Adult‐to‐Adult Living Donor Liver Transplantation Cohort Study, we performed a cost‐effectiveness analysis exploring the costs and benefits of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT).

Susanne Hagist, Holger Sültmann, Gunda Millonig, Ulrike Hebling, Dörthe Kieslich, Rupert Kuner, Sabrina Balaguer, Helmut‐Karl Seitz, Annemarie Poustka, Sebastian Mueller – 28 January 2009 – Iron in association with reactive oxygen species (ROS) is highly toxic, aggravating oxidative stress reactions. Increased iron not only plays an important role in the progression of hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) but also in common liver diseases such as chronic hepatitis C. The underlying mechanisms of hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐mediated iron accumulation, however, are poorly understood.

Patrick Ingiliz, Marc‐Antoine Valantin, Claudine Duvivier, Fadia Medja, Stephanie Dominguez, Frédéric Charlotte, Roland Tubiana, Thierry Poynard, Christine Katlama, Anne Lombès, Yves Benhamou – 28 January 2009 – Liver damage associated with chronic unexplained high serum transaminases in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)‐infected patients under combined antiretroviral therapy is unknown.

Paolo Pugnale, Valerio Pazienza, Kévin Guilloux, Francesco Negro – 28 January 2009 – Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) can cause severe acute and chronic liver disease in patients infected with hepatitis B virus. Interferon‐α (IFN‐α) is the only treatment reported to be effective in chronic hepatitis delta, albeit in a minority of patients. The molecular mechanisms underlying resistance to therapy are unclear. IFN‐α–induced activation of the Janus kinase‐signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK‐STAT) signaling cascade is essential for the induction of an antiviral state.

John Fung, Jorge Rakela – 28 January 2009

Fredric D. Gordon, Paul Kwo, Hugo E. Vargas – 28 January 2009 – Recurrent hepatitis C after liver transplantation is a universal phenomenon. Graft reinfection occurs rapidly; once it is established, allograft cirrhosis and decompensation rapidly ensue in many patients. Treatment with pegylated interferon plus ribavirin is the standard of care among nontransplant patients with hepatitis C; however, the applicability of these therapies in liver transplant patients is severely limited.

Veronika Papp, Katalin Dezsö, Viktória László, Peter Nagy, Sándor Paku – 28 January 2009 – Although liver architecture has a major impact on function, morphological aspects of liver growth are relatively neglected. In our recent experiments, the architectural changes of the rat liver were compared during 2 basic processes: ontogeny and regenerative liver growth. The hepatic tissue is constructed as structural/functional units, and probably the most established and well‐defined such unit is the classic lobule.

Sonal Asthana, Glenn K. Bonney, Ashley Guthrie, Mervyn H. Davies, K. Rajendra Prasad – 28 January 2009