Fuat H. Saner, Matthias Heuer, Peter‐Michael Rath, Julia Gensicke, Arnold Radtke, Nina Drühe, Eva‐Marija Rüngeler, Silvio Nadalin, Massimo Malagó, Christoph E. Broelsch – 20 October 2006 – Pulmonary infections are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality after liver transplantation. Infections with methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have increased in the last 10 years. Mortality may exceed 80% in liver transplant recipients who develop MRSA pneumonia.

James D. Perkins – 20 October 2006

20 October 2006

Michael Mendoza, Zobair Younossi – 20 October 2006

Ming‐Lung Yu, Shi‐Ming Lin, Chuan‐Mo Lee, Chia‐Yen Dai, Wen‐Yu Chang, Shinn‐Cherng Chen, Li‐Po Lee, Zu‐Yau Lin, Ming‐Yuh Hsieh, Liang‐Yen Wang, Wan‐Long Chuang, Yun‐Fan Liaw – 20 October 2006 – Changes in hepatic fibrosis after interferon‐based therapy may be important in determining the long‐term outcome of chronic hepatitis C (CHC). The use of liver biopsy for posttreatment assessment is not a viable option as a routine follow‐up procedure.

Lucy Golden‐Mason, James R. Burton, Nicole Castelblanco, Jared Klarquist, Salvador Benlloch, Chia Wang, Hugo R. Rosen – 20 October 2006 – Interleukin‐7 (IL‐7) is required for the establishment and maintenance of memory CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes, and cells lacking IL‐7Rα (CD127) demonstrate impaired IL‐2 secretion and have a short life‐span. Chronic HCV is characterized by T cells that are functionally impaired and exhibit an immature phenotype.

Dong‐Mei Zheng, Tsuneo Kitamura, Kenichi Ikejima, Nobuyuki Enomoto, Shunhei Yamashina, Satoko Suzuki, Yoshiyuki Takei, Nobuhiro Sato – 20 October 2006 – In alcoholic liver disease, ethanol‐induced damage to sinusoidal endothelial cells (SECs) appears to be important in the progression of liver damage. However, little is known about the mechanisms responsible for protection of SECs against ethanol‐induced injury.

Pradip Raychaudhuri, Lester F. Lau, Dennis Grayson, Jack Kaplan – 20 October 2006

Francesca Lodato, Maria Rosa Tamé, Marco Montagnani, Vittorio Sambri, Giovanna Liguori, Francesco Azzaroli, Paolo Costigliola, Gianluca Grazi, Enrico Roda, Giuseppe Mazzella – 20 October 2006 – The incidence of invasive fungal infection is increasing especially in the field of transplantation, affecting as many as 50% of bone marrow transplant (BMT) patients with neutropenia and 5‐20% of solid‐organ transplant (SOT) recipients. Fusarium species are soil saprophytes and plant pathogens.

Jason Grebely, Brian Conway, Jesse D. Raffa, Calvin Lai, Mel Krajden, Mark W. Tyndall – 20 October 2006 – Spontaneous clearance of hepatitis C (HCV) may provide protection against reinfection. In a large community‐based cohort study of 3,553 inner‐city residents (mainly injection drug users), we identified HCV‐infected individuals in whom virological clearance had occurred and compared the rate of reinfection in this group with that observed in previously uninfected members of the same cohort.