Manuel Hernández‐Guerra, Juan Turnes, Pablo Rubinstein, Simon Olliff, Elwyn Elias, Jaime Bosch, Juan Carlos García‐Pagán – 14 October 2004 – Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) have been shown to be an efficient portal‐systemic derivative treatment for Budd‐Chiari syndrome (BCS) patients uncontrolled by medical therapy. However, the main drawback of TIPS for this condition is a very high rate of shunt dysfunction. Recently, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)‐covered stents have been shown to reduce the incidence of TIPS dysfunction in patients with cirrhosis.

Scott L. Friedman – 14 October 2004

Heike Bantel, Andreas Lügering, Jan Heidemann, Xandra Volkmann, Christopher Poremba, Christian P. Strassburg, Michael Peter Manns, Klaus Schulze‐Osthoff – 14 October 2004 – Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is characterized by inflammatory liver damage and is associated with a high risk of development of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Although histological examination of liver biopsies is currently the gold standard for the detection of early liver damage, there is a strong need for better noninvasive methods.

Sigal Kremer‐Tal, Helen L. Reeves, Goutham Narla, Swan N. Thung, Myron Schwartz, Analisa Difeo, Amanda Katz, Jordi Bruix, Paulette Bioulac‐Sage, John A. Martignetti, Scott L. Friedman – 14 October 2004 – Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer death worldwide, reflecting incomplete characterization of underlying mechanisms and lack of early detection. Krüppel‐like factor 6 (KLF6) is a ubiquitously expressed zinc finger transcription factor that is deregulated in multiple cancers through loss of heterozygosity (LOH) and/or inactivating somatic mutation.

Neil Kaplowitz – 14 October 2004

Fareed Rahman, Theo Heller, Barbara Rehermann – 14 October 2004

Alessandro Perrella, Guglielmo Borgia, Oreste Perrella – 14 October 2004

Adrian Reuben – 14 October 2004

Joyce J. Repa, Kimberly K. Buhman, Robert V. Farese, John M. Dietschy, Stephen D. Turley – 14 October 2004 – Acyl CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) 2 is the major cholesterol‐esterifying enzyme in mouse enterocytes and hepatocytes. Male ACAT2+/+ and ACAT2−/ − mice were fed chow containing added cholesterol (0%‐0.500% w/w) for 24 days. Over this range, fractional cholesterol absorption in the ACAT2+/+ mice fell from 41.4% ± 6.6% to 21.0% ± 5.2%, and in their ACAT2−/− counterparts it fell from 35.1% ± 4.5% to 7.9% ± 0.8%.

Motoaki Imose, Masahito Nagaki, Kiminori Kimura, Shinji Takai, Motohiro Imao, Takafumi Naiki, Yosuke Osawa, Takahiko Asano, Hideki Hayashi, Hisataka Moriwaki – 28 September 2004 – Leflunomide is a novel immunosuppressive and anti‐inflammatory agent for the treatment of autoimmune disease. The aim of this study was to investigate whether leflunomide protects from liver injury induced by concanavalin A (Con A), a T‐cell–dependent model of liver damage. BALB/c mice were injected with 25 mg/kg Con A in the presence or absence of 30 mg/kg leflunomide.