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.

Domenico Sansonno, Felicia Anna Tucci, Valli De Re, Gianfranco Lauletta, Michele Montrone, Massimo Libra, Franco Dammacco – 20 April 2006

Robert E. Lanford, Bernadette Guerra, Helen Lee, Deborah Chavez, Kathleen M. Brasky, Catherine B. Bigger – 20 April 2006 – The mechanism of the interferon‐alpha (IFN‐α)‐induced antiviral response during hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy is not completely understood. In this study, we examined the transcriptional response to IFN‐α in uninfected chimpanzees after single doses of chimpanzee, human, or human‐pegylated IFN‐α. Liver and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples were used for total genome microarray analysis.

Annarosa Floreani, Isabella Carderi, Angela Variola, Erik Rosa Rizzotto, James Nicol, Nora V. Bergasa – 20 April 2006 – A single nucleotide polymorphism characterized by the substitution of valine for glutamate (V1188E) in exon 25 of the multidrug resistance protein 2 gene was found in a group of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis. This heterozygous mutation was significantly associated with the presence of pruritus. (HEPATOLOGY 2006;43:1152–1154.)

Christine Demeilliers, Emmanuel Jacquemin, Véronique Barbu, Martine Mergey, François Paye, Laura Fouassier, Nicolas Chignard, Chantal Housset, Nour‐Eddine Lomri – 20 April 2006 – Recent reports in patients with PFIC1 have indicated that a gene defect in ATP8B1 could cause deregulations in bile salt transporters through decreased expression and/or activity of FXR. This study aimed to: (1) define ATP8B1 expression in human hepatobiliary cell types, and (2) determine whether ATP8B1 defect affects gene expressions related to bile secretion in these cells.

Federico P. Gómez, Joan A. Barberà, Josep Roca, Felip Burgos, Concepción Gistau, Robert Rodríguez‐Roisin – 20 April 2006 – Enhanced pulmonary production of nitric oxide (NO) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS). NO inhibition with NG‐nitro‐L‐arginine methyl ester (L‐NAME) in both animals and humans with HPS has improved arterial hypoxemia. We assessed the role of enhanced NO production in the pathobiology of arterial deoxygenation in HPS and the potential therapeutic efficacy of selective pulmonary NO inhibition.

Ryan M. Taylor, Paula Bockenstedt, Grace L. Su, Jorge A. Marrero, Shawn M. Pellitier, Robert J. Fontana – 20 April 2006 – Thrombocytopenia is common among liver transplant candidates and recipients. The aim of our study was to determine the incidence and outcome of new‐onset immune‐mediated thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) following liver transplantation at a single center.