Chihiro Morishima, Timothy R. Morgan, James E. Everhart, Elizabeth C. Wright, Mitchell L. Shiffman, Gregory T. Everson, Karen L. Lindsay, Anna S. F. Lok, Herbert L. Bonkovsky, Adrian M. Di Bisceglie, William M. Lee, Jules L. Dienstag, Marc G. Ghany, David R. Gretch, HALT‐C Trial Group – 26 July 2006 – For making treatment decisions related to chronic hepatitis C, the utility of HCV RNA tests with increased sensitivity has not been defined. Prior interferon nonresponders with advanced fibrosis (n = 1,145) were retreated with peginterferon alpha‐2a and ribavirin.

Armando Tripodi, Massimo Primignani, Veena Chantarangkul, Marigrazia Clerici, Alessandra Dell'Era, Federica Fabris, Francesco Salerno, Pier Mannuccio Mannucci – 26 July 2006 – Coagulation factor defects, thrombocytopenia, and thrombocytopathy are associated with cirrhosis. However, bleeding in patients who have cirrhosis does not entirely correlate with abnormal coagulation tests.

Gyongyi Szabo, Angela Dolganiuc, Pranoti Mandrekar – 26 July 2006 – Pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) function as sensors of microbial danger signals enabling the vertebrate host to initiate an immune response. PRRs are present not only in immune cells but also in liver parenchymal cells and the complexity of the cell populations provide unique aspects to pathogen recognition and tissue damage in the liver.

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