Józefa Wesierska‐Gadek, Edward Penner, Pier Maria Battezzati, Carlo Selmi, Massimo Zuin, Eva Hitchman, Howard J. Worman, M. Eric Gershwin, Mauro Podda, Pietro Invernizzi – 20 April 2006 – Although there have been significant advances in understanding the clinical and biochemical features of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), there is still a paucity of data on the usefulness of biomarkers as prognostic indicators. This is particularly important at the time of initial diagnosis.

Helen M. Evans, Deirdre A. Kelly, Patrick J. McKiernan, Stefan Hübscher – 20 April 2006 – The long‐term histological outcome after pediatric liver transplantation (OLT) is not yet fully understood. De novo autoimmune hepatitis, consisting of histological chronic hepatitis associated with autoantibody formation and allograft dysfunction, is increasingly recognized as an important complication of liver transplantation, particularly in the pediatric population.

Marlène Dreux, Francois‐Loïc Cosset – 20 April 2006

Jay H. Hoofnagle, Megan E. Miller – 20 April 2006

Kyuhyun Lee, Sung‐Tae Yun, Young‐Gun Kim, Yeup Yoon, Eui‐Cheol Jo – 20 April 2006 – Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) constitutes more than 90% of all primary liver cancers. HCC is a hypervascular tumor that develops from dedifferentiation of small avascular HCC and is therefore a good target for anti‐angiogenic gene therapy.

Norah A. Terrault, Jonathan T. Carter, Laurie Carlson, Michelle E. Roland, Peter G. Stock – 20 April 2006 – The outcome of patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) referred for liver transplantation (LT) is unknown. A high frequency of lamivudine‐resistant (LAM‐R) HBV infection may increase the risk of liver‐related death pre‐transplantation and prophylaxis failure post‐transplantation.

Federico Aucejo, Charles Winans, J. Michael Henderson, David Vogt, Bijan Eghtesad, John J. Fung, Mark Sands, Charles M. Miller – 20 April 2006 – The “piggyback” technique for liver transplantation has gained worldwide acceptance. Still, complications such as outflow obstruction have been observed, usually attributable to technical errors such as small‐caliber anastomosis of the suprahepatic vena cava, twisting, or kinking.

Nickolas Kontorinis, Kaushik Agarwal, Nassim Elhajj, M. Isabel Fiel, Thomas D. Schiano – 20 April 2006 – A 55‐year‐old Caucasian male developed a well characterized autoimmune hepatitis after completing treatment with pegylated interferon and ribavirin for recurrent hepatitis C. We hypothesize that pegylated interferon triggered a severe form of immune‐mediated hepatitis.

Connie L. Davis – 20 April 2006

G. Thomas Strickland – 20 April 2006 – In Egypt, schistosomiasis was traditionally the most important public health problem and infection with Schistosoma mansoni the major cause of liver disease. From the 1950s until the 1980s, the Egyptian Ministry of Health (MOH) undertook large control campaigns using intravenous tartar emetic, the standard treatment for schistosomiasis, as community‐wide therapy. This commendable effort to control a major health problem unfortunately established a very large reservoir of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the country.