Thomas E. Starzl, Fadi G. Lakkis – 30 January 2006 – Liver transplantation radically changed the philosophy of hepatology practice, enriched multiple areas of basic science, and had pervasive ripple effects in law, public policy, ethics, and theology. Why organ engraftment was feasible remained enigmatic, however, until the discovery in 1992 of donor leukocyte microchimerism in long‐surviving liver, and other kinds of organ recipients.

Allan Concejero, Chao‐Long Chen, Chih‐Chi Wang, Shih‐Ho Wang, Chih‐Che Lin, Yeuh‐Wei Liu, Chin‐Hsiang Yang, Chee‐Chien Yong, Tsan‐Shiun Lin, Salleh Ibrahim, Bruno Jawan, Yu‐Fan Cheng, Tung‐Liang Huang – 30 January 2006 – Hepatic venous outflow reconstruction is a key to successful living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) because its obstruction leads to graft dysfunction and eventual loss. Inclusion or reconstruction of most draining veins is ideal to ensure graft venous drainage and avoids acute congestion in the donor graft.

Kerry Webb, Liz Shepherd, Ed Day, George Masterton, James Neuberger – 30 January 2006

Rene Scheenstra, Maarten L.J. Torringa, Herman J. Waalkens, Erik H. Middelveld, Peter M.J.G. Peeters, Maarten J.H. Slooff, Annette S.H. Gouw, Henkjan J. Verkade, Charles M.A. Bijleveld – 30 January 2006 – It is unclear whether cyclosporine A (CsA) can be withdrawn safely during follow‐up after pediatric liver transplantation. In our transplant program we have been using a strict protocol to withdraw CsA. The aim of this study was to retrospectively assess the effects of CsA withdrawal after pediatric liver transplantation on the incidence of rejection and renal function.

Don C. Rockey, D. Montgomery Bissell – 30 January 2006 – As novel therapies for liver fibrosis evolve, non‐invasive measurement of liver fibrosis will be required to help manage patients with chronic liver disease. Although liver biopsy is the current and time‐honored gold standard for measurement of liver fibrosis, it is poorly suited to frequent monitoring because of its expense and morbidity, and its accuracy suffers from sampling variation. At the current writing, serum markers and imaging methods are available and increasingly in use as alternatives to biopsy.

Shusen Zheng, Yaomin Chen, Tingbo Liang, Anwei Lu, Weilin Wang, Yan Shen, Min Zhang – 30 January 2006 – The aim of our study was to determine the outcomes of liver transplant recipients receiving either lamivudine (LAM) monotherapy or LAM combined with low‐dose intramuscular (IM) hepatitis B Immunoglobulin (HBIG) therapy. We performed a retrospective review of the medical records of patients that had had liver transplantation in a single center for HBV‐related liver diseases from December 1999 to June 2004.

Bijan Eghtesad, Federico Aucejo, John J. Fung – 30 January 2006

30 January 2006

Thierry Poynard, Mona Munteanu, Yen Ngo, Mercedes Torres, Yves Benhamou, Dominique Thabut, Vlad Ratziu – 26 January 2006

Keyur Patel, Suzanne Norris, Lauralynn Lebeck, Anne Feng, Michael Clare, Stephen Pianko, Bernard Portmann, Lawrence M. Blatt, James Koziol, Andrew Conrad, John G. McHutchison – 26 January 2006 – Patients infected with HIV‐1 who are heterozygous at HLA class I loci present greater variety of antigenic peptides to CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes, slowing progression to AIDS. A similar broad immune response in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) infection could result in greater hepatic injury.