Thomas Dethloff, Bent Adel Hansen, Fin Stolze Larsen – 29 June 2004 – Arterial hyperammonemia and cerebral vasodilatation correlate with cerebral herniation in patients with fulminant hepatic failure (FHF). Tacrolimus is a calcineurin inhibitor that passes the blood‐brain barrier and may increase cerebrovascular tone and restrict cerebral ammonia influx. In this study, we determined if tacrolimus prevents cerebral vasodilatation and high intracranial pressure (ICP) in the rat with portacaval anastomosis (PCA) challenged to high arterial ammonia (NH4+) concentration.

Kirti Shetty, Kate Timmins, Colleen Brensinger, Emma E. Furth, Sushil Rattan, Weijing Sun, Mark Rosen, Michael Soulen, Abraham Shaked, K. Rajender Reddy, Kim M. Olthoff – 29 June 2004 – Appropriate patient selection is crucial in ensuring acceptable outcomes from orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) has elected to prioritize HCC patients for OLT based on criteria of tumor burden.

Didier Samuel – 29 June 2004

Francis Y. Yao, John P. Roberts – 29 June 2004

Christian V. Hulzebos, Charles M.A. Bijleveld, Frans Stellaard, Folkert Kuipers, Vaclav Fidler, Maarten J.H. Slooff, Paul M.J.G. Peeters, Pieter J.J. Sauer, Henkjan J. Verkade – 29 June 2004 – Hyperlipidemia is a common side effect of cyclosporine A (CsA) after solid organ transplantation. CsA also markedly reduces the synthesis rate of bile salts in rats and can inhibit biliary bile salt secretion. It is not known, however, whether CsA inhibits the synthesis of bile salts in humans, and whether the hyperlipidemic effects of CsA are related to bile salt metabolism.

Ruud A.F. Krom – 29 June 2004

Guy W. Neff, Christopher O'Brien, Marzia Montalbano, Antoinette DeManno, Stephanie Kahn, Kamran Safdar, Seigo Nishida, Andreas Tzakis – 29 June 2004 – The extensive use of alternative medicine products, herbal remedies, and vitamins in large doses has reached an all time high in the general public. Some agents are reported and advertised as immune stimulants and may interfere with patients suffering from immune modification, autoimmune diseases, or transplant recipients.

Mathew Jacob, Lynn P. Copley, James D. Lewsey, Alex Gimson, Giles J. Toogood, Mohamed Rela, Jan H. P. van der Meulen – 29 June 2004 – It has been shown that the model for end‐stage liver disease (MELD) score is an accurate predictor of survival in patients with liver disease without transplantation. Four recent studies carried out in the United States have demonstrated that the MELD score obtained immediately prior to transplantation is also associated with post‐transplant patient survival.

James Neuberger – 29 June 2004

Nathalie Stojeba, Carole Meyer, Catherine Jeanpierre, Frédéric Perrot, Christine Hirth, Thierry Pottecher, Jean‐Charles Deybach – 29 June 2004 – The porphyrias are a group of inherited or acquired enzymatic defects of heme biosynthesis. Each type of porphyria has a characteristic pattern of overproduction and accumulation of heme precursors based on the location of dysfunctional enzyme in the heme synthetic pathway.