Jasmohan Singh Bajaj, Ashwin Ananthakrishnan, Kia Saeian – 24 May 2005

Jeremy J. Theal, Mohssen N. Toosi, Larisa Girlan, Ronald J. Heslegrave, Pierre‐Michel Huet, Kelly W. Burak, Mark Swain, George A. Tomlinson, E. Jenny Heathcote – 24 May 2005 – Fatigue is common in primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). Altered central serotonergic neurotransmission may be involved in its pathogenesis. This multicenter, randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, crossover trial evaluated the efficacy of ondansetron, a selective 5‐HT3 receptor subtype antagonist, for treating fatigue in PBC.

Andrea DiMartini, Lubna Javed, Sarah Russell, Mary Amanda Dew, Mary Grace Fitzgerald, Ashok Jain, John Fung – 24 May 2005 – Alcohol and tobacco use commonly co‐occur, with at least 90% of those with an alcohol problem also using tobacco.

J. Michael Henderson – 24 May 2005

Florence Tanné, Frédéric Gagnadoux, Olivier Chazouillères, Bernard Fleury, Dominique Wendum, Elisabeth Lasnier, Bernard Lebeau, Raoul Poupon, Lawrence Serfaty – 24 May 2005 – Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are at risk for the development of fatty liver as a result of being overweight. Several data suggest that OSA per se could be a risk factor of liver injury; ischemic hepatitis during OSA has been reported, and OSA is an independent risk factor for insulin resistance.

Elwyn Elias – 24 May 2005

Taku Aoki, Hiroshi Imamura, Junichi Kaneko, Yoshihiro Sakamoto, Yutaka Matsuyama, Norihiro Kokudo, Yasuhiko Sugawara, Masatoshi Makuuchi – 24 May 2005 – The hepatic arterial buffer response (HABR) is an intrinsic regulatory mechanism of the hepatic artery (HA) that compensates for reductions in portal venous (PV) blood flow. Whether this response is maintained in patients with cirrhosis (LC) is unclear. The aim of the present study was to examine whether HABR is maintained in patients with LC using direct blood flow measurements.

Michael A. Fink, Peter W. Angus, Paul J. Gow, S. Roger Berry, Bao‐Zhong Wang, Vijayaragavan Muralidharan, Christopher Christophi, Robert M. Jones – 24 May 2005 – Minimization of death while waiting for liver transplantation involves accurate prioritization according to clinical status and appropriate allocation of donor livers. Clinical judgment in the Liver Transplant Unit Victoria (LTUV) was compared with Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) in a retrospective analysis of the LTUV database over the 2‐year period August 1, 2002, through July 31, 2004.

Alyssa M. Krasinskas, Bijan Eghtesad, Patrick S. Kamath, Anthony J. Demetris, Susan C. Abraham – 24 May 2005 – Intrahepatic noncirrhotic portal hypertension can be idiopathic or associated with known toxic, developmental, vascular, or biliary tract diseases. Most patients are successfully managed medically or with shunting procedures. The goal of this study was to explore the reasons some patients require orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT).

David E. Kleiner, Elizabeth M. Brunt, Mark Van Natta, Cynthia Behling, Melissa J. Contos, Oscar W. Cummings, Linda D. Ferrell, Yao‐Chang Liu, Michael S. Torbenson, Aynur Unalp‐Arida, Matthew Yeh, Arthur J. McCullough, Arun J. Sanyal, Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Clinical Research Network – 24 May 2005 – Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by hepatic steatosis in the absence of a history of significant alcohol use or other known liver disease. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the progressive form of NAFLD.