MELD and prediction of post–liver transplantation survival

Shahid Habib, Brian Berk, Chung‐Chou H. Chang, Anthony J. Demetris, Paulo Fontes, Igor Dvorchik, Bijan Eghtesad, Amadeo Marcos, A. Obaid Shakil – 23 February 2006 – The model for end‐stage liver disease (MELD) was developed to predict short‐term mortality in patients with cirrhosis. It has since become the standard tool to prioritize patients for liver transplantation. We assessed the value of pretransplant MELD in the prediction of posttransplant survival. We identified adult patients who underwent liver transplantation at our institution during 1991–2002.

Metabolic syndrome: A new view of some familiar transplant risks

James D. Perkins – 23 February 2006 – The metabolic syndrome is a cluster of interrelated common clinical disorders, including obesity, insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, hypertension, and dyslipidemia (hypertriglyceridemia and low HDL cholesterol levels). According to recently defined criteria, the metabolic syndrome is prevalent and is associated with a greater risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease than any of its individual components.

Validation of cardiovascular risk scores in a liver transplant population

Olaf Guckelberger, Florian Mutzke, Matthias Glanemann, Ulf P. Neumann, Sven Jonas, Ruth Neuhaus, Peter Neuhaus, Jan M. Langrehr – 23 February 2006 – Increased prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors has been acknowledged in liver transplant recipients, and an increased incidence of cardiovascular events has been suspected. Individual risk determination, however, has not yet been established.

Successful adult‐to‐adult living donor liver transplantation in a patient with moderate to severe portopulmonary hypertension

Hideaki Uchiyama, Yuji Soejima, Akinobu Taketomi, Tomoharu Yoshizumi, Noboru Harada, Hideki Ijichi, Yusuke Yonemura, Yoshihiko Maehara – 23 February 2006 – Portopulmonary hypertension (PPHTN) is one of the most devastating consequences of end‐stage liver cirrhosis. When a patient has moderate to severe PPHTN, his or her candidature for liver transplantation is denied. Here we report a successful adult‐to‐adult living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) in a patient with moderate to severe PPHTN.

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).

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.

Distinctive clinical phenotype and treatment outcome of type 1 autoimmune hepatitis in the elderly

Albert J. Czaja, Herschel A. Carpenter – 22 February 2006 – Autoimmune hepatitis is classically a disease of young women. Our aims were to determine its occurrence, clinical phenotype, and outcome in elderly patients and contrast findings to young adults. Two‐hundred‐and‐five white North American adults with definite type 1 autoimmune hepatitis were grouped according to age at presentation and the groups compared. Forty‐seven patients (23%) were aged ≥60 years (median age, 68 years), and 31 patients (15%) were aged ≤30 years (median age, 25 years).

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