Yuki Ohishi, Minoru Nakamura, Naomi Iio, Shingo Higa, Mao Inayoshi, Yoshihiro Aiba, Atsumasa Komori, Katsuhisa Omagari, Hiromi Ishibashi, Kazuhiro Tsukamoto – 18 April 2008 – Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a multifactorial disease in which genetic factors rather than environmental factors may predominantly contribute to the pathogenesis.

Fabian Geisler, Florian Nagl, Pawel K. Mazur, Marcel Lee, Ursula Zimber‐Strobl, Lothar J. Strobl, Freddy Radtke, Roland M. Schmid, Jens T. Siveke – 18 April 2008 – The Notch pathway is an evolutionary conserved, intercellular signaling pathway that plays an important role in cell fate specification and the embryonic development of many organs, including the liver. In humans, mutations in the Notch receptor ligand Jagged1 gene result in defective intrahepatic bile duct (IHBD) development in Alagille syndrome.

Conor O'Brien, Supriya Joshi, Jordan J. Feld, Maha Guindi, Hans P. Dienes, E. Jenny Heathcote – 18 April 2008 – Antimitochondrial antibodies (AMAs) are the serological hallmark for primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). When AMAs are detected in patients with chronic hepatitis, they negatively impact on the autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) scoring system. The purpose of this study was to determine if AMAs detected in the sera of patients with overt AIH have clinical or pathological significance. All patients with a clinicopathologic diagnosis of AIH from one center were reviewed.

Hla‐Hla Thein, Qilong Yi, Gregory J. Dore, Murray D. Krahn – 18 April 2008 – Published estimates of liver fibrosis progression in individuals with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are heterogeneous. We aimed to estimate stage‐specific fibrosis progression rates and their determinants in these individuals. A systematic review of published prognostic studies was undertaken.

Melania Manco, Valerio Nobili – 18 April 2008

M. Isabel Lucena, Raúl J. Andrade, Carmen Martínez, Eugenia Ulzurrun, Elena García‐Martín, Yolanda Borraz, M. Carmen Fernández, Manuel Romero‐Gomez, Agustin Castiella, Ramón Planas, Joan Costa, Sandra Anzola, José A. G. Agúndez – 16 April 2008 – Individual vulnerability to drug‐induced liver injury (DILI) might result from deficiencies in the detoxification process, which determines the level of exposure to the reactive metabolite.

Giacomo Manenti, Antonella Galvan, F. Stefania Falvella, Rosa M. Pascale, Elena Spada, Silvano Milani, Anna Gonzalez Neira, Francesco Feo, Tommaso A. Dragani – 16 April 2008 – The genome of the BALB/c mouse strain provides alleles that dominantly inhibit hepatocellular tumor development in F1 crosses with the highly hepatocarcinogenesis‐susceptible C3H/He strain.

Julia L. Newton, Kieren G. Hollingsworth, Roy Taylor, Ahmed M. El‐Sharkawy, Zia Uda Khan, Ruth Pearce, Kathryn Sutcliffe, Oke Okonkwo, Adrian Davidson, Jennifer Burt, Andrew M. Blamire, David Jones – 16 April 2008 – Qualitative studies suggest that patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) experience significant problems with memory and concentration. Studies of nonhepatic disease have linked hypotension and cognitive impairment.

Masanori Seimiya, Takeshi Tomonaga, Kazuyuki Matsushita, Masahiko Sunaga, Masamichi Oh‐ishi, Yoshio Kodera, Tadakazu Maeda, Shigetsugu Takano, Akira Togawa, Hideyuki Yoshitomi, Masayuki Otsuka, Masakazu Yamamoto, Masayuki Nakano, Masaru Miyazaki, Fumio Nomura – 15 April 2008 – Early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) greatly improves its prognosis. However, the distinction between benign and malignant tumors is often difficult, and novel immunohistochemical markers are necessary.

Lindsay D. Plank, Edward J. Gane, Szelin Peng, Carl Muthu, Sachin Mathur, Lyn Gillanders, Kerry McIlroy, Anthony J. Donaghy, John L. McCall – 15 April 2008 – Patients with liver cirrhosis exhibit early onset of gluconeogenesis after short‐term fasting. This accelerated metabolic reaction to starvation may underlie their increased protein requirements and muscle depletion. A randomized controlled trial was conducted to test the hypothesis that provision of a late‐evening nutritional supplement over a 12‐month period would improve body protein stores in patients with cirrhosis.