Banff Working Group, A. J. Demetris – 26 July 2006 – Evaluation of needle biopsies and extensive clinicopathological correlation play an important role in the determination of liver allograft dysfunction occurring more than 1 year after transplantation. Interpretation of these biopsies can be quite difficult because of the high incidence of recurrent diseases that show histopathological, clinical, and serological features that overlap with each other and with rejection. Also, more than one insult can contribute to allograft injury.

Stephen N. Wong, Anna S.F. Lok – 26 July 2006

Cecilia M.P. Rodrigues, Clifford J. Steer – 26 July 2006

Jeffrey D. Browning – 26 July 2006 – Non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and cardiovascular disease are independently associated. Due to the efficacy of 3‐hydroxy 3‐methylglutaryl‐coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, increasing interest has been shown in establishing the safety of these drugs in NAFLD.

Josh Levitsky – 26 July 2006 – Bacterial infections frequently occur early after liver transplantation. We recently reported significant progress with a synbiotic composition, consisting of one lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and one fiber, which reduced the infection rate from 48% (with selective bowel decontamination) to 13%. Now, our aim is to study if a combination of different LAB and fibers would further improve outcome. A prospective randomized double‐blind trial was undertaken in 66 liver transplant recipients. All patients received enteral nutrition immediately post‐operatively.

Xiao‐Song He, Xuhuai Ji, Matthew B. Hale, Ramsey Cheung, Aijaz Ahmed, Yaqian Guo, Garry P. Nolan, Lawrence M. Pfeffer, Teresa L. Wright, Neil Risch, Robert Tibshirani, Harry B. Greenberg – 26 July 2006 – Interferon (IFN)‐α–based therapy for chronic hepatitis C is effective in fewer than 50% of all treated patients, with a substantially lower response rate in black patients. The goal of this study was to investigate the underlying host transcriptional response associated with interferon treatment outcomes.

Rolf Gebhardt, Elke Ueberham – 26 July 2006

A. S. Knisely, Sandra S. Strautnieks, Yvonne Meier, Bruno Stieger, Jane A. Byrne, Bernard C. Portmann, Laura N. Bull, Ludmila Pawlikowska, Banu Bilezikçi, Figen Özçay, Aranka László, László Tiszlavicz, Lynette Moore, Jeremy Raftos, Henrik Arnell, Björn Fischler, Antal Németh, Nikos Papadogiannakis, Joanna Cielecka‐Kuszyk, Irena Jankowska, Joanna Pawłowska, Hector Melín‐Aldana, Karan M. Emerick, Peter F. Whitington, Giorgina Mieli‐Vergani, Richard J. Thompson – 26 July 2006 – Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is rare in young children.

Julia A. Wendon, Fin Stolze Larsen – 26 July 2006

Jacques Bernuau, François Durand – 26 July 2006 – Monitoring of intracranial pressure (ICP) in acute liver failure (ALF) is controversial as a result of the reported complication risk (approximately 20%) and limited therapeutic options for intracranial hypertension. Using prospectively collected information from 332 patients with ALF and severe encephalopathy, we evaluated a recent experience with ICP monitoring in the 24 centers constituting the U.S. ALF Study Group.