Paul B. Watkins, Leonard B. Seeff – 22 February 2006 – Idiosyncratic drug induced liver injury (DILI) remains poorly understood. It is assumed that the affected individuals possess a rare combination of genetic and non genetic factors that, if identified, would greatly improve understanding of the underlying mechanisms. This single topic conference brought together basic scientists, translational investigators, and clinicians with an interest in DILI.

Jared D. Evans, Christoph Seeger – 22 February 2006 – Antiviral immunity against a pathogen is mounted upon recognition by the host of virally associated structures.

Margaret James Koziel – 22 February 2006

Andreas Untergasser, Uta Zedler, Anja Langenkamp, Marianna Hösel, Maria Quasdorff, Knud Esser, Hans‐Peter Dienes, Barbara Tappertzhofen, Waldemar Kolanus, Ulrike Protzer – 22 February 2006 – Dendritic cells (DC) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers have been reported to exhibit functional impairment. Possible explanations for this phenomenon are infection of HBV by DC or alteration of DC function by HBV.

Zun Chang Liu, Thomas Ming Swi Chang – 22 February 2006 – Under specific conditions, bone marrow cells can transdifferentiate into a variety of cell types including hepatocytes. In this study, bioencapsulated bone marrow cells were transplanted intraperitoneally into 90% hepatectomized rats. We then followed the transdifferentiation of the bone marrow cells and the effect of this on liver regeneration in this liver failure model. Bone marrow cells isolated from Wistar rats were bioencapsulated using alginate‐polylysine‐alginate method.

Ivo W. Graziadei, Hubert Schwaighofer, Robert Koch, Karin Nachbaur, Alfred Koenigsrainer, Raimund Margreiter, Wolfgang Vogel – 15 February 2006 – Biliary strictures are one of the most common complications following liver transplantation (LT), with an incidence of 5.8‐34%. Endoscopic techniques have been successfully used to treat biliary complications; however, the long‐term efficacy and safety of this treatment option has not yet been fully elucidated.

Christoph Jochum, Mechthild Beste, Volker Penndorf, Marjan Sharifi Farahani, Giuliano Testa, Silvio Nadalin, Massimo Malago, Christoph E. Broelsch, Guido Gerken – 15 February 2006 – The unique ability of the liver to regenerate quickly after resection makes living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) possible. This technique uses the unique ability of the liver to regenerate to full size after partial resection. However, the quality and course of this regeneration process in humans are still widely unexplored.

Paige M. Porrett, Heather Peterman, Mark Rosen, Seema Sonnad, Michael Soulen, James F. Markmann, Abraham Shaked, Emma Furth, K. Rajender Reddy, Kim Olthoff – 15 February 2006 – The potential for disease progression in patients awaiting liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has encouraged many centers to employ pre‐transplant radiofrequency ablation or chemoembolization in an attempt to control tumor burden while patients are on the wait list.

Jean‐Michel Pawlotsky – 10 February 2006 – Four virological markers of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are used clinically for management of patients with hepatitis C, namely the HCV genotype, HCV RNA, HCV core antigen, and antibody to HCV (anti‐HCV). The diagnosis of acute and chronic hepatitis C is based on both anti‐HCV detection using enzyme immunoassays (EIA) and HCV RNA detection using a sensitive molecular biology‐based technique.

Doris B. Strader – 10 February 2006 – Managing patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection consists primarily of antiviral treatment, currently with peginterferon and ribavirin. Unfortunately, treatment recommendations derive largely from trials that have focused on highly selected patient populations. As a consequence of the strict inclusion and exclusion criteria in these studies, more than half of all HCV‐infected patients would be ineligible for enrollment. Even among the selected patients enrolled into studies, only 50% achieve a sustained virological response (SVR).