Benjamin L. Shneider, Regino González‐Peralta, Eve A. Roberts – 20 October 2006

Michela G. Schäppi, Dominique C. Belli, Peter C. Rimensberger, Christophe Chardot, Gürkan Kaya, Jean‐Marie Tiercy, Hulya Ozsahin – 20 October 2006 – Fulminant hepatic failure of unknown origin is the most common cause of fulminant hepatitis with high incidence of aplastic anaemia. Furthermore, the association of liver failure and aplastic anaemia has an increased mortality rate. In this report we describe a 16‐month‐old boy who presented with aplastic anaemia preceding a non‐A, non‐B, non‐C fulminant liver failure.

Ziv Ben‐Ari – 20 October 2006

Kanji Wakabayashi, Zhe‐Xiong Lian, Yuki Moritoki, Ruth Y. Lan, Koichi Tsuneyama, Ya‐Hui Chuang, Guo‐Xiang Yang, William Ridgway, Yoshiyuki Ueno, Aftab A. Ansari, Ross L. Coppel, Ian R. Mackay, M. Eric Gershwin – 20 October 2006 – Recently, we identified a child born with a genetic deficiency of IL‐2 receptor α (IL‐2Rα, CD25) expression who had several clinical manifestations of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC).

Norah J. Shire, Paul S. Horn, Susan D. Rouster, Sandra Stanford, M. Elaine Eyster, Kenneth E. Sherman, Multicenter Hemophilia Cohort HCV Study Group – 20 October 2006 – Hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment response rates remain low in HCV/HIV‐1‐coinfected individuals compared with those with HCV alone. Persons with inherited coagulation disorders have high rates of HCV and HIV‐1 infection, but HCV treatment trials in this patient population are scarce.

Elizabeth P. Newberry, Yan Xie, Susan M. Kennedy, Jianyang Luo, Nicholas O. Davidson – 20 October 2006 – Liver fatty acid–binding protein (L‐Fabp) regulates murine hepatic fatty acid trafficking in response to fasting. In this study, we show that L‐Fabp−/− mice fed a high‐fat Western diet for up to 18 weeks are less obese and accumulate less hepatic triglyceride than C57BL/6J controls. Paradoxically, both control and L‐Fabp−/− mice manifested comparable glucose intolerance and insulin resistance when fed a Western diet.

Neil Kaplowitz – 20 October 2006

Rupert Abdalian, E. Jenny Heathcote – 20 October 2006 – Secondary sclerosing cholangitis (SSC) is a disease that is morphologically similar to primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) but that originates from a known pathological process. Its clinical and cholangiographic features may mimic PSC, yet its natural history may be more favorable if recognition is prompt and appropriate therapy is introduced.

Henrik Toft Sørensen, Timothy L. Lash, Kenneth J. Rothman – 20 October 2006 – Observational analogs of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are well accepted in the study of disease risk factors, diagnosis, and prognosis. There is controversy about observational studies when the focus is on the intended benefit due to lack of blinding and poor control for unmeasured confounding. Well‐designed randomized clinical trials are costly both in time and money. Therefore, existing databases are used increasingly and are often the only feasible source with which to examine delayed health effects.

Javier Fernández, Angels Escorsell, Michel Zabalza, Vanessa Felipe, Miguel Navasa, Antoni Mas, Antonio M. Lacy, Pere Ginès, Vicente Arroyo – 20 October 2006 – Relative adrenal insufficiency is frequent in patients with severe sepsis and is associated with hemodynamic instability, renal failure, and increased mortality. This study prospectively evaluated the effects of steroids on shock resolution and hospital survival in a series of 25 consecutive patients with cirrhosis and septic shock (group 1).