J. Ignacio Herrero, Jorge Quiroga, Bruno Sangro, Fernando Pardo, Fernando Rotellar, Javier Alvarez‐Cienfuegos, Jesus Prieto – 30 August 2004 – Herpes zoster is the consequence of the reactivation of latent varicella‐zoster infection. Immunosuppression may be a predisposing factor for herpes zoster. We have retrospectively assessed the risk of herpes zoster, the risk factors for its occurrence, and its evolution in a population of 209 consecutive liver transplant recipients. Herpes zoster developed in 25 (12%) of patients.

Laszlo Romics, Angela Dolganiuc, Karen Kodys, Yvonne Drechsler, Shilpa Oak, Arumugam Velayudham, Pranoti Mandrekar, Gyongyi Szabo – 30 August 2004 – Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) triggers cytokine production through Toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR4), which shares downstream signaling pathways with TLR2. We investigated the roles of TLR2 and TLR4 in Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes)–primed, LPS‐induced liver damage using selective TLR ligands. Stock LPS induced interleukin 8 in both TLR4‐ and TLR2‐expressing human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells.

Michael Charlton, Kris Ruppert, Steven H. Belle, Nathan Bass, Daniel Schafer, Russell H. Wiesner, Katherine Detre, Yuling Wei, James Everhart – 30 August 2004 – Hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐associated liver disease is the most common indication for liver transplantation (LT). There are, however, no long‐term (>5 year) studies of comparative outcomes for recipients with HCV infection, and no models capable of identifying recipients with HCV infection at greatest risk for adverse outcomes.

Shin Hwang, Sung‐Gyu Lee, Young‐Joo Lee, Kwang‐Min Park, Ki‐Hun Kim, Chul‐Soo Ahn, Kyu‐Bo Sung, Deok‐Bog Moon, Tae‐Yong Ha, Keon‐Kuk Kim, Yeon‐Dae Kim – 30 August 2004 – The right posterior segment (RPS) graft was introduced to overcome graft‐size mismatch when the donor liver demonstrates a disproportionately small left lobe (LL). As variants of liver anatomy seemed to be related to the feasibility of RPS graft procurement, in 2003, we performed a prospective study to assess its feasibility in 197 consecutive living donors.

Ziv Ben‐Ari – 30 August 2004

Mohammed S. Khuroo, Mehnaaz S. Khuroo, Karim L.C. Farahat – 30 August 2004 – Molecular adsorbent recirculating system (MARS) is an important option for patients with liver failure to give them additional time for recovery or to serve as a “bridge” to transplantation. However, its effect on survival for such patients is not well known. Our aim was to assess the treatment effects of MARS on patients with acute and acute‐on‐chronic liver failure. The outcomes measure evaluated was survival.

Konrad L. Streetz, Torsten Wuestefeld, Michael P. Manns, Christian Trautwein – 30 August 2004

Lennox J. Jeffers, William Cassidy, Charles D. Howell, Sylvia Hu, K. Rajender Reddy – 30 August 2004

Masao Omata – 30 August 2004

Montserrat Garcia‐Retortillo, Xavier Forns, Josep M. Llovet, Miquel Navasa, Anna Feliu, Anna Massaguer, Miquel Bruguera, Josep Fuster, Juan Carlos Garcia‐Valdecasas, Antoni Rimola – 30 August 2004 – Preliminary reports suggested that hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has a more aggressive course following living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) compared to cadaveric liver transplantation (CLT). The aim of this prospective study was to establish if HCV disease recurrence differs between LDLT and CLT.