Aaron W. Bell, George K. Michalopoulos – 23 June 2006 – Phenobarbital is a lipophilic molecule used as a sedative and antiepileptic drug that elicits a multitude of effects in the liver, including gross liver enlargement, hepatocyte hypertrophy, and induced expression of drug‐metabolizing enzymes and other liver‐specific genes. The constitutive androstane receptor (CAR; NR1I3) and to a lesser extent the pregnane X receptor (PXR; NR1I2) are responsible for mediating induction of many phenobarbital‐responsive genes.

Gerald S. Lipshutz, Supriya Patel, Jonathan R. Hiatt, Hassan Yersiz, Douglas G. Farmer, Sue V. McDiarmid, R. Mark Ghobrial, Ronald W. Busuttil – 23 June 2006 – Few studies have reported a series of patients who have undergone portocaval hemitransposition at the time of orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Furthermore, no series report the outcome of pediatric patients who required the procedure. This work analyzes the experience with portocaval hemitransposition in the pediatric liver transplant population at a single center since the initial description of the procedure.

Vimala Christopher, Thawab Al‐Chalabi, Paul D. Richardson, Paolo Muiesan, Mohammed Rela, Nigel D. Heaton, John G. O'Grady, Michael A. Heneghan – 23 June 2006 – Infertility is common in women with end‐stage liver disease. Successful liver transplant (LT), however, can restore childbearing potential. Controversy exists regarding the most appropriate immunosuppressive regimen and timing of conception following LT. We report the outcomes of a review of all pregnancies occurring following LT at King's College Hospital, London, from 1988 to 2004.

DeokBog Moon, SungGyu Lee, Shin Hwang, KiHun Kim, ChulSoo Ahn, KwangMin Park, TaeYong Ha, GiWon Song – 23 June 2006 – Although severely steatotic liver grafts are not suitable for transplantation, they have been used when other, more optimal donors were not available, especially for living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) using two liver grafts. Here we present two cases of dual‐graft LDLT in which the recipients showed rapid and complete clearing of fat from livers with previously severe steatosis.

Evangelos Cholongitas, Laura Marelli, Vibhakorn Shusang, Marco Senzolo, Keith Rolles, David Patch, Andrew K. Burroughs – 23 June 2006 – The Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score is now used for allocation in liver transplantation (LT) waiting lists, replacing the Child‐Turcotte‐Pugh (CTP) score. However, there is debate as whether it is superior to CTP score to predict mortality in patients with cirrhosis on the LT waiting list and after LT. We reviewed studies comparing the accuracy of MELD vs. CTP score in transplantation settings.

Jay H. Hoofnagle – 23 June 2006

Barbara Haber – 23 June 2006

Julia L. Newton, G. John Gibson, Mark Tomlinson, Katharine Wilton, David Jones – 23 June 2006 – A significant proportion of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) suffer from severe fatigue. The aim of this study was to characterize patterns of daytime sleep in patients with PBC (using both objective and subjective assessment approaches) and to study the association between sleep abnormality and fatigue severity.

Ton Lisman, Tamara N. Bongers, Jelle Adelmeijer, Harry L.A. Janssen, Moniek P.M. de Maat, Philip G. de Groot, Frank W.G. Leebeek – 23 June 2006 – Cirrhosis of the liver is frequently accompanied by complex alterations in the hemostatic system, resulting in a bleeding tendency. Although many hemostatic changes in liver disease promote bleeding, compensatory mechanisms also are found, including high levels of the platelet adhesive protein von Willebrand Factor (VWF). However, conflicting reports on the functional properties of VWF in cirrhosis have appeared in literature.

Stuart J. Forbes, Malcolm R. Alison – 23 June 2006