Yoon‐Seon Lee, Dong Jin Suh, Young‐Suk Lim, Suk Won Jung, Kang Mo Kim, Han Chu Lee, Young‐Hwa Chung, Yung Sang Lee, Wangdon Yoo, Soo‐Ok Kim – 25 May 2006 – Although adefovir dipivoxil (ADV) has a unique profile of delayed and infrequent resistance in treatment‐naïve chronic hepatitis B patients, the association of ADV resistance with previous lamivudine (LAM) resistance is not well understood. We compared the emergence of the ADV‐resistant mutations rtA181V/T and rtN236T between LAM‐resistant patients and treatment‐naïve patients at 48 weeks of ADV monotherapy.

David Saadoun, Tarik Asselah, Mathieu Resche‐Rigon, Frédéric Charlotte, Pierre Bedossa, Dominique Valla, Jean‐Charles Piette, Patrick Marcellin, Patrice Cacoub – 25 May 2006 – The relationship between cryoglobulin and severity of liver lesions is debated. No study has focused on the relationship between cryoglobulin, liver steatosis, and fibrosis. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between cryoglobulins and liver lesions (necroinflammation, fibrosis, and steatosis) in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

Xandra Volkmann, Markus Cornberg, Heiner Wedemeyer, Frank Lehner, Michael P. Manns, Klaus Schulze‐Osthoff, Heike Bantel – 25 May 2006 – Only half of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and genotype‐1 show a sustained antiviral response to the current antiviral therapy. The reason this treatment fails is unclear, and no reliable marker exists that predicts the treatment outcome. In the present study, we investigated the apoptotic activation of caspases in HCV patients undergoing antiviral therapy with regard to the treatment outcome.

Pavel Strnad, Tim C. Lienau, Guo‐Zhong Tao, Laura C. Lazzeroni, Felix Stickel, Detlef Schuppan, M. Bishr Omary – 25 May 2006 – Keratins 8 and 18 (K8/K18) protect the liver from various forms of injury. Studies of liver explants from a large cohort of U.S. patients showed that K8/K18 mutations confer a risk to developing end‐stage liver diseases, though which diseases are preferentially involved is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that K8/K18 variants are associated with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and that their presence correlates with progression of fibrosis.

Agustín Albillos, Leticia Muñoz, Mónica Nieto, María Úbeda, Antonio de‐la‐Hera, Melchor Alvarez‐Mon – 25 May 2006

Stephen Kerfoot, Charlotte D'Mello, Henry Nguyen, Maureen Ajuebor, Paul Kubes, Tai Le, Mark G. Swain – 25 May 2006

Teh‐Ia Huo, Shou‐Dong Lee, Jaw‐Ching Wu – 25 May 2006

Jai Young Cho, Kyung‐Suk Suh, Hae Won Lee, Eung‐Ho Cho, Sung Hoon Yang, Yong Beom Cho, Nam‐Joon Yi, Min A Kim, Ja‐June Jang, Kuhn Uk Lee – 24 May 2006 – Early postoperative graft function assessments are essential after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) to predict patient and graft outcome. Computed tomography (CT) is usually used to evaluate various complications and parenchymal abnormalities after LDLT. Here, we attempted to determine the prognostic values of CT attenuation changes of grafts for predicting 1‐year patient survival.

Danielle M. Nijkamp, Maarten J.H. Slooff, Christian S. van der Hilst, Alexander J.C. IJtsma, Koert P. de Jong, Paul M.J.G. Peeters, Robert J. Porte – 24 May 2006 – The exact frequency and clinical consequences of surgical hepatic injuries during organ procurement are unknown. We analyzed the incidence, risk factors, and clinical outcome of surgical injuries in 241 adult liver grafts. Hepatic injuries were categorized as parenchymal, vascular, or biliary. Outcome variables were bleeding complications, hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT), and graft survival.

Carlos Moreno, Antoni Sabaté, Joan Figueras, Imma Camprubí, Antonia Dalmau, Joan Fabregat, Maylin Koo, Emilio Ramos, Laura Lladó, Antoni Rafecas – 24 May 2006 – We performed a prospective, randomized study of adult patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation, comparing hemodynamic and tissular oxygenation during reperfusion of the graft.