Salvatore Gruttadauria, Giovanni Vizzini, Domenico Biondo, Lucio Mandalà, Riccardo Volpes, Ugo Palazzo, Bruno Gridelli – 30 January 2008 – This study presents our experience with the use of extended criteria donor (ECD) liver grafts. One hundred fifteen liver transplants were divided into 2 groups: standard (S) and nonstandard (NS). Fifty‐eight patients in group S received a liver procured from an ideal donor, whereas 57 patients in group NS received an organ from an ECD.

Phunchai Charatcharoenwitthaya, Keith D. Lindor – 30 January 2008

Mary Amanda Dew, Andrea F. DiMartini, Jennifer Steel, Annette De Vito Dabbs, Larissa Myaskovsky, Mark Unruh, Joel Greenhouse – 30 January 2008 – For patients receiving liver or other organ transplants for diseases associated with substance use, risk for relapse posttransplantation is a prominent clinical concern. However, there is little consensus regarding either the prevalence or risk factors for relapse to alcohol or illicit drug use in these patients.

Carla W. Brady, Alastair D. Smith, Karen M. Stechuchak, Cynthia J. Coffman, Janet E. Tuttle‐Newhall, Dawn Provenzale, Andrew J. Muir – 30 January 2008 – In the current system of allocation, patients awaiting orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) remain at risk of developing de novo hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and removal from the waiting list. Using the United Network for Organ Sharing database, we calculated the rate and identified predictors of de novo HCC in patients listed for OLT between February 2002 and December 2004. Among 8566 patients, 1167 (13.6%) developed de novo HCC.

Masahiko Taniguchi, Tsuyoshi Shimamura, Hiroyuki Furukawa, Satoru Todo – 30 January 2008

Yusuke Kyoden, Sumihito Tamura, Yasuhiko Sugawara, Noriyo Yamashiki, Yuichi Matsui, Junichi Togashi, Junichi Kaneko, Norihiro Kokudo, Masatoshi Makuuchi – 30 January 2008 – Previous reports described the effectiveness of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) for post‐Kasai biliary atresia (BA) in the pediatric population. Information on the outcome of LDLT in patients that have reached adulthood after the Kasai procedure, however, is limited. A recent report postulated a poorer long‐term outcome of LDLT in these adults.

Mina Komuta, Bart Spee, Sara Vander Borght, Rita De Vos, Chris Verslype, Raymond Aerts, Hirohisa Yano, Tetsuya Suzuki, Masanori Matsuda, Hideki Fujii, Valeer J. Desmet, Masamichi Kojiro, Tania Roskams – 29 January 2008 – Cholangiolocellular carcinoma (CLC), a subtype of cholangiocellular carcinoma (CC), is thought to originate from the ductules/canals of Hering, where hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs) are located. We investigated the clinicopathological features of 30 CLCs and their relationship to HPCs.

Sanaa M. Kamal, Imad A. Nasser – 28 January 2008 – Hepatitis C virus genotype 4 (HCV‐4) is the most common variant of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the Middle East and Africa, particularly Egypt. This region has the highest prevelance of HCV worldwide, with more than 90% of infections due to genotype 4. HCV‐4 has recently spread in several Western countries, particularly in Europe, due to variations in population structure, immigration, and routes of transmission. The features of HCV‐4 infection and the appropriate therapeutic regimen have not been well characterized.

Stefano Bellentani, Riccardo Dalle Grave, Alessandro Suppini, Giulio Marchesini, Fatty Liver Italian Network (FLIN) – 26 January 2008 – Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is systematically associated with insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome, where behavior therapy remains the primary treatment, simultaneously addressing all the clinical and biochemical defects.

M. Eric Gershwin, Ian R. Mackay – 26 January 2008 – The most difficult issue in autoimmunity remains etiology. Although data exist on effector mechanisms in many autoimmune diseases, the underlying cause or causes are still generically ascribed to genetics and environmental influences. Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is considered a model autoimmune disease because of its signature antimitochondrial autoantibody (AMA), the homogeneity of clinical characteristics, and the specificity of biliary epithelial cell (BEC) pathology.