Takuma Teratani, Haruhiko Yoshida, Shuichiro Shiina, Shuntaro Obi, Shinpei Sato, Ryosuke Tateishi, Norio Mine, Yuji Kondo, Takao Kawabe, Masao Omata – 20 April 2006 – We evaluated the efficacy and safety of radiofrequency (RF) ablation for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in presumably high‐risk locations. Between February 1999 and December 2001, we performed RF ablation on 1,419 nodules in 636 consecutive HCC patients, of which 231 nodules in 207 patients were in high‐risk locations, defined as less than 5 mm from a large vessel or an extrahepatic organ.

Neil Kaplowitz – 20 April 2006

Koichi Tanaka, Kazue Ozawa, Satoshi Teramukai, Yasutsugu Takada, Hiroto Egawa, Satoshi Kaihara, Yasuhiro Fujimoto, Yasuhiro Ogura, Mureo Kasahara, Masako Ono, Hiroshi Sato, Kenji Takai, Masanori Fukushima, Nagahiro Minato – 20 April 2006 – The primed status of T cells is markedly different among liver transplant recipients, due to a lifetime of antigen exposure and reduced thymopoiesis by aging, and diseases. This study aims to characterize the preoperative immunological status of CD8+ T cell subpopulations and relate it to the outcome for liver transplant recipients.

Jesús Medina, Ricardo Moreno‐Otero – 20 April 2006

Eliza Wiercinska, Lucia Wickert, Bernd Denecke, Harun M. Said, Jafar Hamzavi, A. M. Gressner, Midori Thorikay, Peter ten Dijke, Peter R. Mertens, Katja Breitkopf, Steven Dooley – 20 April 2006 – Transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β is critically involved in the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) that occurs during the process of liver damage, for example, by alcohol, hepatotoxic viruses, or aflatoxins. Overexpression of the TGF‐β antagonist Smad7 inhibits transdifferentiation and arrests HSCs in a quiescent stage.

Yock Young Dan, Chun Tao Wai, Khay Guan Yeoh, Seng Gee Lim – 20 April 2006 – Hepatitis B immunoglobulin with lamivudine prophylaxis (LAM/HBIG) is effective in preventing Hepatitis B (HBV) recurrence posttransplant but is expensive and inconvenient. Lamivudine‐resistant HBV, which has limited the usefulness of lamivudine monoprophylaxis in transplant, can now be effectively controlled with adefovir dipivoxil.

Georgios K. Glantzounis, Brian R. Davidson – 20 April 2006

Baburao Koneru, Mark J. Sterling, Phillip F. Bahramipour – 20 April 2006

Didier Samuel, Jean‐Charles Duclos‐Vallee – 20 April 2006

Masaki Nagaya, Sunao Kubota, Noboru Suzuki, Katsuya Akashi, Toshihiro Mitaka – 20 April 2006 – Focal injury of the adult liver causes formation of granulomatous tissue and fibrosis. When thermoreversible gelation polymer (TGP) was applied to such defects of the rat liver, complete recovery of hepatic tissues was observed without granulation. We analyzed the mechanism of the regeneration. TGP is a chemically synthesized biocompatible polymer material whose sol‐gel transition is reversible by changing the temperature. Cooled TGP was poured into a penetration lesion of the rat liver.