Jia‐Horng Kao, Ding‐Shinn Chen – 23 December 2004

Jason A. Dominitz, Edward J. Boyko, Thomas D. Koepsell, Patrick J. Heagerty, Charles Maynard, Jennifer L. Sporleder – 23 December 2004 – Several studies suggest veterans have a higher prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection than nonveterans, possibly because of military exposures. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of anti–hepatitis C antibody and evaluate factors associated with infection among users of Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers.

Hirdesh Uppal, David Toma, Simrat P.S. Saini, Songrong Ren, Thomas J. Jones, Wen Xie – 23 December 2004 – Efficient detoxification of bile acids is necessary to avoid pathological conditions such as cholestatic liver damage and colon cancer. The orphan nuclear receptors PXR and CAR have been proposed to play an important role in the detoxification of xeno‐ and endo‐biotics by regulating the expression of detoxifying enzymes and transporters.

Victor W. Xia, Randolph H. Steadman – 22 December 2004 – This article reviews the current status and controversies of the 3 commonly used antifibrinolytics—epsilon‐aminocaproic acid, tranexamic acid and aprotinin—during liver transplantation. There is no general consensus on how, when or which antifibrinolytics should be used in liver transplantation. Although these drugs appear to reduce blood loss and decrease transfusion requirements during liver transplantation, their use is not supported uniformly in clinical trials.

Santiago Moreno, Jesús Fortún, Carmen Quereda, Ana Moreno, Ma Jesús Pérez‐Elías, Pilar Martín‐Dávila, Emilio de Vicente, Rafael Bárcena, Yolanda Quijano, Miguel García, Javier Nuño, Adolfo Martínez – 22 December 2004 – Liver transplantation is being evaluated as a therapeutic option for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)‐infected patients with end‐stage liver disease, but experience is still scarce. We describe the outcome of 4 HIV‐infected patients who underwent liver transplantation in our hospital between July 2002 and April 2003.

Ryuta Nishitai, Cody A. Koch, Kiyoshi Ogata, Bruce E. Knudsen, Timothy B. Plummer, Kim A. Butters, Jeffrey L. Platt – 22 December 2004 – Xenogeneic hepatocyte transplantation might offer an unobtrusive alternative to whole liver allotransplantation. Having previously found that the immune response to such grafts can be controlled by immunosuppression, we sought approaches to collection and delivery that would optimize survival and function after transplantation.

Julie K. Heimbach, K.V. Narayanan Menon, Michael B. Ishitani, Scott L. Nyberg, Christopher J. Jankowski, Keith D. Lindor, Charles B. Rosen – 22 December 2004 – Situs inversus totalis is a rare anatomic variant in which there is a complete mirror image of the thoracic and abdominal viscera. The common association of situs inversus and biliary atresia has led to a variety of modifications of surgical techniques utilizing both living donor and deceased donor liver grafts, with mixed results in the pediatric liver transplant population.

Shin Hwang, Sung‐Gyu Lee, Kwang‐Min Park, Ki‐Hun Kim, Chul‐Soo Ahn, Deok‐Bog Moon, Tae‐Yong Ha – 22 December 2004 – Major short hepatic veins (SHV) are indicated for vascular reconstruction to prevent excessive hepatic venous congestion of right liver grafts. As separate anastomoses of multiple small SHVs are vulnerable to stenosis or regeneration‐related torsion, a conjoined large opening of SHVs may be better than multiple separate anastomoses. We devised an innovative method to reconstruct SHVs through a patchwork quilt using autologous greater saphenous vein (GSV).

Michiel C. Warlé, Herold J. Metselaar, Wim C.J. Hop, Hugo W. Tilanus – 22 December 2004 – In the field of liver transplantation, 7 reports have been published investigating the association between polymorphisms in cytokine genes and the occurrence of acute rejection in liver graft recipients. However, most of the individual studies lack the statistical power to detect a small‐to‐moderate effect of cytokine gene polymorphisms on the acute rejection rate.

John Fung, Jorge Rakela – 22 December 2004