Sharon R. Lewin, Ruy M. Ribeiro, Anchalee Avihingsanon, Scott Bowden, Gail Matthews, Pip Marks, Stephen A. Locarnini, Kiat Ruxrungtham, Alan S. Perelson, Gregory J. Dore – 27 March 2009 – Following treatment of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection with nucleos(t)ide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), there is a biphasic clearance of HBV, similar to that seen following treatment of human immunodeficiency virus‐1 (HIV‐1) and hepatitis C virus.

Shuai Li, Hanjiang Fu, Yulan Wang, Yi Tie, Ruiyun Xing, Jie Zhu, Zhixian Sun, Lixin Wei, Xiaofei Zheng – 27 March 2009 – MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have recently been proposed as a versatile class of molecules involved in regulation of various biological processes. Although there is emerging evidence that some microRNAs can function as oncogenes or tumor suppressors, the specific role of miRNA in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is unclear at this point.

Frank G. Schaap, Niels A. van der Gaag, Dirk J. Gouma, Peter L. M. Jansen – 27 March 2009 – Fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19) is an endocrine factor produced by the small intestine in response to uptake of luminal bile salts. In the liver, FGF19 binds to FGF receptor‐4, resulting in down‐regulation of cytochrome P (CYP) 7A1 and reduced bile salt synthesis.

Ahsun Riaz, Laura Kulik, Robert J. Lewandowski, Robert K. Ryu, Georgia Giakoumis Spear, Mary F. Mulcahy, Michael Abecassis, Talia Baker, Vanessa Gates, Ritu Nayar, Frank H. Miller, Kent T. Sato, Reed A. Omary, Riad Salem – 27 March 2009 – We present the correlation between radiologic and pathologic findings in HCC patients who underwent radioembolization with yttrium‐90 (90Y) microspheres prior to resection or transplantation. Thirty‐five patients with a total of 38 lesions who underwent liver explantation after 90Y radioembolization were studied.

Damien Lucidarme, Juliette Foucher, Brigitte Le Bail, Julien Vergniol, Laurent Castera, Clotilde Duburque, Gérard Forzy, Bernard Filoche, Patrice Couzigou, Victor de Lédinghen – 27 March 2009 – The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of success rate and interquartile range on the accuracy of transient elastography for the diagnostic of fibrosis in hepatitis C virus infection. Two‐hundred fifty‐four consecutive patients had liver stiffness measurements and liver biopsy of at least 15 mm.

Christian Mölleken, Barbara Sitek, Corinna Henkel, Gereon Poschmann, Bence Sipos, Sebastian Wiese, Bettina Warscheid, Christoph Broelsch, Markus Reiser, Scott L. Friedman, Ida Tornøe, Anders Schlosser, Günter Klöppel, Wolff Schmiegel, Helmut E. Meyer, Uffe Holmskov, Kai Stühler – 27 March 2009 – Hepatic cirrhosis is a life‐threatening disease arising from different chronic liver disorders. One major cause for hepatic cirrhosis is chronic hepatitis C. Chronic hepatitis C is characterized by a highly variable clinical course, with at least 20% developing liver cirrhosis within 40 years.

Stéphane Chevaliez, Magali Bouvier‐Alias, Laurent Castéra, Jean‐Michel Pawlotsky – 27 March 2009

Silvana Gaudieri, Andri Rauch, Katja Pfafferott, Eleanor Barnes, Wendy Cheng, Geoff McCaughan, Nick Shackel, Gary P. Jeffrey, Lindsay Mollison, Ross Baker, Hansjakob Furrer, Huldrych F. Günthard, Elizabeth Freitas, Isla Humphreys, Paul Klenerman, Simon Mallal, Ian James, Stuart Roberts, David Nolan, Michaela Lucas – 27 March 2009 – The efficacy of specifically targeted anti‐viral therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV) (STAT‐C), including HCV protease and polymerase inhibitors, is limited by the presence of drug‐specific viral resistance mutations within the targeted proteins.

Evangelista Sagnelli, Nicola Coppola, Mariantonietta Pisaturo, Addolorata Masiello, Gilda Tonziello, Caterina Sagnelli, Vincenzo Messina, Pietro Filippini – 27 March 2009 – The impact of hepatitis B virus (HBV) superinfection in hepatitis C virus (HCV) chronic carriers was evaluated in a long‐term follow‐up study on 29 chronic anti‐HCV carriers with acute hepatitis B (AVH‐B) (Case group BC) and 29 anti‐HCV negative patients with AVH‐B (Control group B), pair‐matched for age (±5 years), sex, and risk factors for the acquisition of HBV infection.

Matthew Hoare, Graeme Alexander – 27 March 2009