Rafael Bañares, Eduardo Moitinho, Ana Matilla, Juan Carlos García‐Pagán, José Luis Lampreave, Carlos Piera, Juan G. Abraldes, Alejandro De Diego, Agustín Albillos, Jaime Bosch – 7 March 2007 – Short‐term carvedilol administration is more powerful than propranolol in decreasing hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) in cirrhotic patients, but induces arterial hypotension that may prevent its long‐term use in portal hypertensive patients. This study compared the HVPG reduction and safety of long‐term carvedilol and propranolol.

Koko Bate Aborsangaya, Iga Dembinski, Suresh Khatkar, Martin Prince Alphonse, Peter Nickerson, Julia D. Rempel – 26 February 2007 – The host immune response is a critical determinant in viral infection outcome. Epidemiological studies indicate that North American indigenous peoples are more resistant to chronic HCV infection than other populations. Due to the prominence of IL‐10 in chronic HCV infection, we investigated the genetic tendency to produce IL‐10 in Caucasian (CA) and First Nation (FN) populations.

Paul J. Pockros, Lennox Jeffers, Nezam Afdhal, Zachary D. Goodman, David Nelson, Robert G. Gish, K. Rajender Reddy, Robert Reindollar, Maribel Rodriguez‐Torres, Sarah Sullivan, Lawrence M. Blatt, Sima Faris‐Young – 26 February 2007 – Interferon‐γ1b (IFN‐γ1b) is a pleiotropic cytokine that displays antifibrotic, antiviral, and antiproliferative activity.

Amalia Penna, Massimo Pilli, Alessandro Zerbini, Alessandra Orlandini, Sergio Mezzadri, Luca Sacchelli, Gabriele Missale, Carlo Ferrari – 26 February 2007 – The functional impairment of HCV‐specific T cell responses is believed to be an important determinant of HCV persistence, but the functional T cell defects of patients with chronic hepatitis C (CH‐C) are only partially defined. CD8 responses to HLA‐A2–restricted epitopes of HCV and other unrelated viruses were studied in 23 HLA‐A2–positive patients both ex vivo and after in vitro culture.

Luca Di Tommaso, Giada Franchi, Young Nyun Park, Barbara Fiamengo, Annarita Destro, Emanuela Morenghi, Marco Montorsi, Guido Torzilli, Maurizio Tommasini, Luigi Terracciano, Luigi Tornillo, Raffaella Vecchione, Massimo Roncalli – 26 February 2007 – Hepatocellular nodules in cirrhosis include regenerative (large regenerative, LRN) and dysplastic (low and high grade, LGDN and HGDN) nodules, early and grade 1 HCC (eHCC‐G1), and overt HCC. The differential diagnosis may be particularly difficult when lesions such as HGDN and eHCC‐G1 are involved.

Srinivasa Prasad, Radha K. Dhiman, Ajay Duseja, Yogesh K. Chawla, Arpita Sharma, Ritesh Agarwal – 26 February 2007 – Minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) has a negative effect on patients' daily functioning. Thus far, no study has investigated the effect of treatment‐related improvement in cognitive functions on health‐related quality of life (HRQOL).

Lars E. Schmidt, Fin Stolze Larsen – 26 February 2007 – The Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) scoring system has been established as a reliable measure of short‐term mortality risk in patients with end‐stage chronic liver disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of the MELD scoring as a predictor of fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) and death in patients with acetaminophen poisoning. Prospectively, serial measurements of the 3 MELD components—INR, bilirubin, and creatinine—were performed in 460 patients with acetaminophen‐induced liver injury.

Núria Roglans, Laia Vilà, Mireia Farré, Marta Alegret, Rosa María Sánchez, Manuel Vázquez‐Carrera, Juan Carlos Laguna – 26 February 2007 – Fructose makes up a significant proportion of energy intake in westernized diets; its increased consumption has paralleled the growing prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome over the past two decades. In the current study, we demonstrate that fructose administration (10% wt/vol) in the drinking water of rats reduces the trans‐activating and trans‐repressing activity of the hepatic peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor α (PPARα).

Elena V. Mashalova, Chandan Guha, Namita Roy‐Chowdhury, Laibin Liu, Ira J. Fox, Jayanta Roy‐Chowdhury, Marshall S. Horwitz – 26 February 2007 – Hepatocyte transplantation is being evaluated as an alternative to liver transplantation for metabolic support during liver failure and for definitive treatment of inherited liver diseases. However, as with liver transplantation, transplantation of allogeneic hepatocytes requires prolonged immunosuppression with its associated untoward effects.

Pascal G. P. Martin, Hervé Guillou, Frédéric Lasserre, Sébastien Déjean, Annaig Lan, Jean‐Marc Pascussi, Magali SanCristobal, Philippe Legrand, Philippe Besse, Thierry Pineau – 26 February 2007 – Peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐α (PPARα) is a major transcriptional regulator of lipid metabolism. It is activated by diverse chemicals such as fatty acids (FAs) and regulates the expression of numerous genes in organs displaying high FA catabolic rates, including the liver.