Smoking and increased severity of hepatic fibrosis in primary biliary cirrhosis: A cross validated retrospective assessment

Claudia O. Zein, Kristi Beatty, Anthony B. Post, Laurie Logan, Sara Debanne, Arthur J. McCullough – 28 November 2006 – An epidemiological association between cigarette smoking and primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) has been demonstrated. Our aim was to determine the relationship between smoking and severity of liver fibrosis at presentation in patients with PBC. All patients with PBC seen at the three major teaching hospitals of Case Western Reserve University between October 1998 and December 2005 were identified.

Cost‐effectiveness of hematologic growth factors for anemia occurring during hepatitis C combination therapy

Richard A. Del Rio, Anthony B. Post, Mendel E. Singer – 28 November 2006 – In hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐infected patients who develop anemia during combination therapy, erythropoietic growth factors maintain higher drug treatment levels compared to ribavirin dose reduction, which may lead to an increase in treatment response rates. This study estimated the cost‐effectiveness of growth factor therapy in maintaining anemic HCV‐infected patients on target drug levels during combination therapy.

Laparoscopic liver surgery: Shifting the management of liver tumors

Alan Koffron, David Geller, T. Clark Gamblin, Michael Abecassis – 28 November 2006 – Laparoscopic liver surgery has evolved rapidly over the past 5 years in a select number of centers. The growing experience with these procedures has resulted in a shift in the diagnostic and therapeutic approach to common liver tumors. The fact that resection of benign and malignant hepatic masses can now be accomplished laparoscopically with relatively low morbidity has influenced the decision‐making process for physicians involved in the diagnosis and management of these lesions.

Role of the JAK2 mutation in the diagnosis of chronic myeloproliferative disorders in splanchnic vein thrombosis

Massimo Primignani, Giovanni Barosi, Gaetano Bergamaschi, Umberto Gianelli, Federica Fabris, Raffaella Reati, Alessandra Dell'Era, Paolo Bucciarelli, Pier Mannuccio Mannucci – 28 November 2006 – The diagnosis of an underlying chronic myeloproliferative disorder (CMPD) is often problematic in patients with primary extrahepatic portal vein obstruction (EHPVO) or Budd‐Chiari syndrome (BCS); indeed, conventional clinical and hematological parameters usually yield insufficient information.

Entecavir resistance is rare in nucleoside naïve patients with hepatitis B

Richard J. Colonno, Ronald Rose, Carl J. Baldick, Steven Levine, Kevin Pokornowski, Cheng F. Yu, Ann Walsh, Jie Fang, Mayla Hsu, Charles Mazzucco, Betsy Eggers, Sharon Zhang, Mary Plym, Kenneth Klesczewski, Daniel J. Tenney – 28 November 2006 – Comprehensive monitoring of genotypic and phenotypic antiviral resistance was performed on 673 entecavir (ETV)‐treated nucleoside naïve hepatitis B virus (HBV) patients. ETV reduced HBV DNA levels to undetectable by PCR (<300 copies/mL, <57 IU/mL) in 91% of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)‐positive and ‐negative patients by Week 96.

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