Robert E. Shangraw, Deirdre Lohan‐Mannion, Agnes Hayes, Rose M. Moriarty, Rongwei Fu, Stephen T. Robinson – 25 June 2008 – Lactic acidosis occurs during orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT), especially during the anhepatic and early postreperfusion phases. Dichloroacetate (DCA) inhibits pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase‐1, indirectly activating mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase. This, in turn, markedly reduces systemic lactate production and, to a lesser extent, increases hepatic lactate uptake. The result is moderation of lactic acidosis in many clinical conditions.

Edie Y. Chan, Anne M. Larson, Oren K. Fix, Matthew M. Yeh, Adam E. Levy, Ramasamy Bakthavatsalam, Jeffrey B. Halldorson, Jorge D. Reyes, James D. Perkins – 25 June 2008 – The recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major cause of mortality for patients transplanted with HCC. There currently exists no standard method for identifying those patients with a high risk for recurrence. Identification of factors leading to recurrence is necessary to develop an efficient surveillance protocol and address new potential adjuvant therapies.

Alessandro Giacomoni, Andrea Lauterio, Matteo Donadon, Andrea De Gasperi, Luca Belli, Abdallah Slim, Bogdan Dorobantu, Iacopo Mangoni, Luciano De Carlis – 25 June 2008 – The role of split‐liver transplantation (SLT) for two adult recipients is still a matter of debate, and no agreement exists on indications, surgical techniques, and results. The aim of this study was to retrospectively analyze the outcome of our series of SLT. From May 1999 to December 2006, 16 patients underwent SLT at our unit. We used 9 full right grafts (segments 5‐8) and 7 full left grafts (segments 1‐4).

Thomas D. Schiano, Rosamond Rhodes – 25 June 2008

Markus Weber, Pierre‐Alain Clavien – 25 June 2008

Sung‐Gyu Lee, Shin Hwang, Deok‐Bog Moon, Chul‐Soo Ahn, Ki‐Hun Kim, Kyu‐Bo Sung, Gi‐Young Ko, Kwang‐Min Park, Tae‐Yong Ha, Gi‐Won Song – 25 June 2008 – The currently available indication criteria of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have high prognostic power but insufficient discriminatory power. On the basis of single‐center results from 221 HCC patients undergoing LDLT, we modified the indication criteria for LDLT to expand recipient selection without increasing the posttransplant recurrence of HCC.

Kristina Imeen Ringe, Michael Galanski, Burckhardt Ringe – 25 June 2008

Chia‐Yen Dai, Wan‐Long Chuang, Jee‐Fu Huang, Ming‐Yen Hsieh, Ming‐Lung Yu – 20 June 2008

Elisa Alchera, Lorenza Tacchini, Chiara Imarisio, Caterina Dal Ponte, Cristina De Ponti, Elena Gammella, Gaetano Cairo, Emanuele Albano, Rita Carini – 20 June 2008 – The cellular mechanisms by which ischemic preconditioning increases liver tolerance to ischemia/reperfusion injury are still poorly understood. This study investigated the role of the hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1 (HIF‐1) in the protection associated with the late phase of liver preconditioning.

Tanja Nussbaum, Jana Samarin, Volker Ehemann, Michaela Bissinger, Eduard Ryschich, Akmal Khamidjanov, Xiaolei Yu, Norbert Gretz, Peter Schirmacher, Kai Breuhahn – 20 June 2008 – The protumorigenic insulin‐like growth factor (IGF)‐II is highly expressed in a significant fraction of human hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC). However, a functional dissection that clarifies the contribution of IGF‐II–binding receptors in tumor progression and a respective molecular characterization of IGF‐II signaling has not been performed.