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Burton Combes – 22 February 2006
Phagocytosis of apoptotic bodies by hepatic stellate cells induces NADPH oxidase and is associated with liver fibrosis in vivo
Shan‐Shan Zhan, Joy X. Jiang, Jian Wu, Charles Halsted, Scott L. Friedman, Mark A. Zern, Natalie J. Torok – 22 February 2006 – Hepatic stellate cell activation is a main feature of liver fibrogenesis. We have previously shown that phagocytosis of apoptotic bodies by stellate cells induces procollagen α1 (I) and transforming growth factor beta (TGF‐β) expression in vitro.
Increased prevalence of primary biliary cirrhosis near superfund toxic waste sites
Aftab Ala, Carmen M. Stanca, Moueen Bu‐Ghanim, Imad Ahmado, Andrea D. Branch, Thomas D. Schiano, Joseph A. Odin, Nancy Bach – 22 February 2006 – Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) are uncommon liver diseases of unknown etiology. Reported clustering of PBC cases may be due to environmental factors. Individuals with PBC have a high prevalence of thyroid disease and thyroid disease is reportedly more prevalent near Superfund toxic waste sites (SFS).
Lack of benefit of pre‐transplant locoregional hepatic therapy for hepatocellular cancer in the current MELD era
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.
Quantitative liver function tests in donors and recipients of living donor liver transplantation
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.
Long‐term outcome of endoscopic treatment of biliary strictures after liver transplantation
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.
Therapy of acute hepatitis C
Alfredo Alberti, Silvia Boccato, Alessandro Vario, Luisa Benvegnù – 10 February 2006 – Acute hepatitis C has a high propensity to become chronic, which provides the rationale for treating patients with acute disease attempting to prevent chronicity. Almost all published studies on therapy of acute hepatitis C have been small in size, uncontrolled, and highly heterogeneous as to patient features, dose and duration of treatment, follow‐up evaluation, and criteria used to define efficacy and safety.
Monitoring of viral levels during therapy of hepatitis C
Gary L. Davis – 10 February 2006 – Alpha interferon therapy of chronic hepatitis C is typically accompanied by a biphasic decrease in hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA levels: an initial rapid decline during the first 24 to 48 hours, and a second more gradual decline during the following weeks. The rate of second‐phase decline correlates with ultimate response to interferon treatment. Thus, assessment of early virological response (EVR) may predict outcome.