Mitchell L. Shiffman, R. Todd Stravitz, Melissa J. Contos, A. Scott Mills, Richard K. Sterling, Velimir A. Luketic, Arun J. Sanyal, Adrian Cotterell, Daniel Maluf, Marc P. Posner, Robert A. Fisher – 16 September 2004 – Hepatitis C virus (HCV) recurs in nearly all patients after liver transplantation. This recurrence is associated with progressive fibrosis and graft loss. It remains unclear whether the natural course of HCV recurrence is altered in patients who undergo living donor liver transplantation (LDLT).

Suzanne Norris, Chris Taylor, Paolo Muiesan, Bernard C. Portmann, Alex S. Knisely, Matthew Bowles, Mohamed Rela, Nigel Heaton, John G. O'Grady – 16 September 2004 – Liver transplantation (LT) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)‐positive individuals is considered to be an experimental therapy with limited reported worldwide experience, and little long‐term survival data. Published data suggest that the short‐term outcome is encouraging in selected patients.

Roberto J. Firpi, Manal F. Abdelmalek, Consuelo Soldevila‐Pico, Roniel Cabrera, Jonathan J. Shuster, Douglas Theriaque, Alan I. Reed, Alan W. Hemming, Chen Liu, James M. Crawford, David R. Nelson – 16 September 2004 – Determinants of progression to cirrhosis in hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection have been well described in the immunocompetent population but remain poorly defined in liver transplant (LT) recipients. This cohort study determines the factors contributing to the development of fibrosis and its rate of progression in the allograft.

Antonio Rafecas, Gabriel Rufí, Juan Figueras, Juan Fabregat, Xavier Xiol, Emilio Ramos, Jaime Torras, Laura Lladó, Teresa Serrano – 16 September 2004 – Until recently, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection was considered an absolute contraindication for liver transplantation in Spain. We present the first 4 cases of liver transplantation (LT) carried out in our center in patients infected with HIV and coinfected by the hepatitis C virus (HCV), immunosuppressed with cyclosporine A (CyA) and basiliximab, but without steroids.

William J. Wall – 16 September 2004

Danny Ka‐Ho Wong, Man‐Fung Yuen, HeJun Yuan, Simon Siu‐Man Sum, Chee‐Kin Hui, Jeff Hall, Ching‐Lung Lai – 30 August 2004 – This study examined a signal amplification assay, the Invader assay, for the quantitation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) in liver biopsies and sera. DNA was extracted from liver biopsy and serum samples were collected from 16 hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)‐positive and 36 antibody‐to‐HBeAg‐positive (anti–HBe‐positive) chronic hepatitis B patients. The amount of total HBV DNA and cccDNA was measured using the Invader assay.

Federico P. Gómez, Graciela Martínez‐Pallí, Joan A. Barberà, Josep Roca, Miquel Navasa, Robert Rodríguez‐Roisin – 30 August 2004 – The mechanism of orthodeoxia (OD), or decreased partial pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO2) from supine to upright, a characteristic feature of hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS), has never been comprehensively elucidated.

Luping Guo, Katharine S. Richardson, Lindsay M. Tucker, Mark A. Doll, David W. Hein, Gavin E. Arteel – 30 August 2004 – It has been shown that the renin‐angiotensin system (RAS) plays key roles in the development of fibrosis in numerous organs, including the liver. Other studies have suggested that the RAS also may play roles in diseases of chronic inflammation. However, whether the RAS also can mediate acute inflammation in liver is unclear.

Lynn B. Dustin – 30 August 2004 – Immunoglobulin GM and KM allotypes—genetic markers of γ and κ chains, respectively—are associated with immune responsiveness to several infectious pathogens and with survival in certain viral epidemics. We hypothesized that GM and KM allotypes affect the outcome of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. To test this hypothesis, we serologically allotyped 100 persons with well‐documented clearance of HCV infection and 198 matched persistently infected persons.

Marie‐Pierre Bralet, Jean‐Charles Duclos‐Vallee, Denis Castaing, Didier Samuel, Catherine Guettier – 30 August 2004