Marianne Ziol, Adriana Handra‐Luca, Adrien Kettaneh, Christos Christidis, Frédéric Mal, Farhad Kazemi, Victor de Lédinghen, Patrick Marcellin, Daniel Dhumeaux, Jean‐Claude Trinchet, Michel Beaugrand – 23 December 2004 – Liver fibrosis is the main predictor of the progression of chronic hepatitis C, and its assessment by liver biopsy (LB) can help determine therapy. However, biopsy is an invasive procedure with several limitations. A new, noninvasive medical device based on transient elastography has been designed to measure liver stiffness.

Richard H. Moseley – 23 December 2004 – Sahai A, Malladi P, Melin‐Aldana H, Green RM, Whitington PF. Upregulation of osteopontin expression is involved in the development of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in a dietary murine model. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 2004;287:G264‐G273. (Reprinted with permission of American Physiological Society)

Astrid Kosters, Raoul J. J. M. Frijters, Cindy Kunne, Edwin Vink, Marit S. Schneiders, Frank G. Schaap, Catherina P. Nibbering, Shailendra B. Patel, Albert K. Groen – 23 December 2004 – The plant sterol diosgenin has been shown to stimulate biliary cholesterol secretion in mice without affecting the expression of the adenosine triphosphate‐binding cassette transporter heterodimer Abcg5/g8. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism of diosgenin‐induced cholesterol hypersecretion and to identify the genes involved.

Shruti H. Mehta, David L. Thomas, Michael Torbenson, Sherilyn Brinkley, Lisa Mirel, Richard E. Chaisson, Richard D. Moore, Mark S. Sulkowski – 23 December 2004 – In the era of antiretroviral therapy (ART), liver disease has emerged as an important cause of death among persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection. The objective of this study was to estimate the burden of liver disease and evaluate determinants of liver fibrosis and necroinflammatory activity among HIV/HCV coinfected patients receiving ART.

Nick Shackel, Don Rockey – 23 December 2004

Harvey J. Alter – 23 December 2004

Kazuo Ohashi, Jacob M. Waugh, Michael D. Dake, Takashi Yokoyama, Hiroyuki Kuge, Yoshiyuki Nakajima, Masaki Yamanouchi, Hiroyuki Naka, Akira Yoshioka, Mark A. Kay – 23 December 2004 – Liver tissue engineering using hepatocyte transplantation has been proposed as an alternative to whole‐organ transplantation or liver‐directed gene therapy to correct various types of hepatic insufficiency. Hepatocytes are not sustained when transplanted under the kidney capsule of syngeneic mice.

Marek Radkowski, Juan F. Gallegos‐Orozco, Joanna Jablonska, Thomas V. Colby, Bozena Walewska‐Zielecka, Joanna Kubicka, Jeffrey Wilkinson, Debra Adair, Jorge Rakela, Tomasz Laskus – 23 December 2004 – It is unclear whether the current antiviral treatment for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection results in complete elimination of the virus, or whether small quantities of virus persist. Our study group comprised 17 patients with chronic HCV who had sustained virological response (SVR) after interferon/ribavirin treatment.

Albert J. Czaja, Francesco B. Bianchi, Herschel A. Carpenter, Edward L. Krawitt, Ansgar W. Lohse, Michael P. Manns, Ian G. McFarlane, Giorgina Mieli‐Vergani, Gotaro Toda, Diego Vergani, John Vierling, Mikio Zeniya – 23 December 2004 – New drugs and advances in molecular biology afford opportunities to upgrade the treatment of autoimmune hepatitis. The aims of this study were to define treatment problems, identify possible solutions, and stimulate investigations to improve patient care.

Anna S. F. Lok – 23 December 2004