Vasiliki Gkretsi, Wendy M. Mars, William C. Bowen, Lindsay Barua, Yu Yang, Lida Guo, René St.‐Arnaud, Shoukat Dedhar, Chuanyue Wu, George K. Michalopoulos – 28 March 2007 – Extracellular matrix (ECM) is fundamental for the survival of cells within a tissue. Loss of contact with the surrounding ECM often causes altered cell differentiation or cell death. Hepatocytes cultured without matrix lose patterns of hepatocyte‐specific gene expression and characteristic cellular micro‐architecture.

Manuel Romero‐Gómez, Juan Córdoba, Rodrigo Jover, Juan A. del Olmo, Marta Ramírez, Ramón Rey, Enrique de Madaria, Carmina Montoliu, David Nuñez, Montse Flavia, Luis Compañy, José M. Rodrigo, Vicente Felipo – 28 March 2007 – Minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) is mainly diagnosed using psychometric tests such as the psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score (PHES). Despite the clinical and social relevance of MHE, psychometric testing is not widespread in routine clinical care.

Andrew L. Lundquist, Ravi S. Chari, James H. Wood, Geraldine G. Miller, Heidi M. Schaefer, David S. Raiford, Kelly J. Wright, D. Lee Gorden – 20 March 2007 – Thymoglobulin® (Genzyme, Cambridge, MA) is an antithymocyte globulin preparation used for induction immunosuppression therapy in solid organ transplantation. It is being utilized with increasing frequency in orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) in an effort to minimize or delay the use of calcineurin inhibitors due to their inherent nephrotoxicity. Experience with thymoglobulin in OLT remains limited.

Pratima Sharma, Jorge A. Marrero, Robert J. Fontana, Joel K. Greenson, Hari Conjeevaram, Grace L. Su, Frederick Askari, Patricia Sullivan, Anna S. Lok – 20 March 2007 – Sustained virologic response (SVR) after antiviral therapy for recurrent hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in liver transplant (LT) recipients is consistently lower than that achieved in non‐LT patients. We evaluated efficacy and safety of pegylated interferon (IFN) and ribavirin (RBV) therapy in LT recipients with recurrent HCV and factors associated with SVR.

Martin Eefsen, Allan Rasmussen, Hans Christian Wulf, Axel Brock, Bent Adel Hansen – 20 March 2007 – Erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) is a disease of the heme metabolism due to a deficiency of ferrochelatase, leading to accumulation of protoporphyrin (PPIX) in the erythrocyte (red blood cell [RBC]). The major clinical manifestation in EPP is photosensitivity; however, in a small number of patients liver failure is a significant complication and liver transplantation is the only treatment option.

Moataz Seyam, James M. Neuberger, Bridget K. Gunson, Stefan G. Hübscher – 16 March 2007 – Liver allograft cirrhosis is a relatively uncommon complication of liver transplantation. Most cases can be attributed to disease recurrence, particularly recurrent hepatitis C. Little is known about the frequency, etiology, and natural history of liver allograft cirrhosis occurring without evidence of recurrent disease. The aim of the present study was to review the clinicopathological features in this group of patients.

Lorenzo Norberto, Lino Polese, Umberto Cillo, Francesco Grigoletto, Andrew K. Burroughs, Daniele Neri, Giacomo Zanus, Patrizia Boccagni, Patrizia Burra, Davide F. D'Amico – 16 March 2007 – Whether beta‐blockers (BB) or banding is the best therapy for primary prophylaxis of variceal bleeding is subject to debate. A randomized comparison between the 2 treatments was performed in candidates for liver transplantation (LT). A total of 62 patients with Child‐Turcotte‐Pugh B‐C cirrhosis and high risk varices received propranolol (31) or variceal banding (31).

Radha K. Dhiman, Sanjay Jain, Uma Maheshwari, Ashish Bhalla, Navneet Sharma, Jasmina Ahluwalia, Ajay Duseja, Yogesh Chawla – 16 March 2007 – While King's Hospital Criteria (KCH) criteria are used worldwide, the Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) is a more recently developed scoring system that has been validated as an independent predictor of patient survival in conditions for liver transplantation (LT). The aim of the present study was to compare MELD and KCH criteria with other early clinical prognostic indicators (CPI) in a cohort of patients with fulminant hepatic failure (FHF).

Philippe Ichai, Jean‐Charles Duclos‐Vallée, Catherine Guettier, Sonia Ben Hamida, Theresa Antonini, Valérie Delvart, Faouzi Saliba, Daniel Azoulay, Denis Castaing, Didier Samuel – 16 March 2007 – Immunosuppressive therapy, and particularly corticosteroids with or without azathioprine, can achieve a remission in more than 80% of patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). By contrast, the usefulness of corticosteroid therapy in severe forms of AIH remains a subject of debate.

Luca S. Belli, Andrew K. Burroughs, Patrizia Burra, Alberto B. Alberti, Dimitrios Samonakis, Calogero Cammà, Luciano De Carlis, Ernesto Minola, Alberto Quaglia, Claudio Zavaglia, Marcello Vangeli, David Patch, Amar Dhillon, Umberto Cillo, Maria Guido, Stefano Fagiuoli, Alessandro Giacomoni, Omar A. Slim, Aldo Airoldi, Sara Boninsegna, Brian R. Davidson, Keith Rolles, Giovambattista Pinzello – 16 March 2007 – In recent years, a worsening outcome of hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐positive recipients and a faster progression of recurrent disease to overt cirrhosis has been reported.