Florian Bihl, Elisabetta Loggi, John V. Chisholm, Maurizio Biselli, Maria C. Morelli, Carmela Cursaro, Norah A. Terrault, Mauro Bernardi, Antonio Bertoletti, Pietro Andreone, Christian Brander – 6 March 2008 – Hepatitis B virus (HBV) recurrence after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is associated with poor graft‐ and patient‐survival. Treatment with HBV‐specific immunoglobulins (HBIG) in combination with nucleos(t)ide analogs is effective in preventing HBV reinfection of the graft and improving OLT outcome.

Michael A. Zimmerman, James F. Trotter, Michael Wachs, Tom Bak, Jeffrey Campsen, Afshin Skibba, Igal Kam – 6 March 2008 – Experience with sirolimus (SRL)‐based immunosuppression following orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is rapidly accumulating. In combination with calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs), SRL may reduce the incidence of acute rejection and lower overall required drug levels. This study sought to quantify long‐term outcome following OLT in patients with cirrhosis and concomitant hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who were treated with an SRL‐based regimen as a primary therapy.

Jinlin Hou, Nathaniel Brown, JiDong Jia – 5 March 2008

Resat Ozaras, Hakan Leblebicioglu, Cafer Eroglu – 5 March 2008

Tracy Swan, Raymond T. Chung – 5 March 2008

Siew Chin Ong, Belinda Mak, Myat Oo Aung, Shu‐Chuen Li, Seng‐Gee Lim – 3 March 2008 – The relationship between stages of chronic hepatitis B liver disease and health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important aspect of the overall management of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, yet is not well characterized. Consequently we sought to examine HRQoL in HBV patients, stratified by disease severity, compared with normal controls and hypertensive patients, using the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF‐36) and the EQ‐5D self‐report questionnaire.

Giovanni Musso, Roberto Gambino, Franco De Michieli, Marilena Durazzo, Gianfranco Pagano, Maurizio Cassader – 29 February 2008 – Factors underlying the independent association of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with increased cardiovascular risk are unknown. Adiponectin polymorphisms predict cardiometabolic risk in the general population. This association is not always mediated by low fasting adiponectin levels, adipose tissue accumulation, or traditional risk factors.

David T. Palma, George M. Philips, Miguel R. Arguedas, Susan M. Harding, Michael B. Fallon – 29 February 2008 – Sleep alters respiratory mechanics and gas exchange, which can adversely affect arterial oxygenation. Whether sleep affects oxygenation in hepatopulmonary syndrome is unknown. The aim of this study was to assess oxygen desaturation during sleep in hepatopulmonary syndrome. Twenty adults with cirrhosis including 10 controls and 10 patients with hepatopulmonary syndrome underwent home pulse‐oximetry during sleep.

Cristiano Quintini, Kenzo Hirose, Koji Hashimoto, Teresa Diago, Federico Aucejo, Bijan Eghtesad, David Vogt, Gregory Pierce, Mark Baker, Dympna Kelly, Charles M. Miller – 27 February 2008 – Splenic artery embolization (SAE) improves hepatic artery (HA) flow in liver transplant (OLT) recipients with so‐called splenic artery steal syndrome. We propose that SAE actually improves HA flow by reducing the HA buffer response (HABR). Patient 1: On postoperative day (POD) 1, Doppler ultrasonography (US) showed patent vasculature with HA resistive index (RI) of 0.8.

Rubén Francés, Pedro Zapater, José M. González‐Navajas, Carlos Muñoz, Rocío Caño, Rocío Moreu, Sonia Pascual, Pablo Bellot, Miguel Pérez‐Mateo, José Such – 27 February 2008 – Bacterial infections and severity of associated inflammatory reaction influence prognosis in patients with advanced cirrhosis. We compared the innate immune response to bacterial DNA (bactDNA) translocation with that caused by viable bacteria translocation in patients with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and the relationship between the cytokine response and serum levels of bactDNA.