Nina Singh, Marilyn M. Wagener, Asia Obman, Thomas V. Cacciarelli, Michael E. de Vera, Timothy Gayowski – 29 June 2004 – During the 1990s, gram‐positive bacteria emerged as major pathogens after liver transplantation. We sought to determine whether the pathogens associated with bacteremias in liver transplant recipients have changed. Patients included 233 liver transplant recipients transplanted between 1989 and 2003. The proportion of all infections due to bacteremias increased significantly over time (P < .0001).

Heikki Makisalo, Anu Koivusalo, Anne Vakkuri, Krister Hockerstedt – 29 June 2004 – Liver transplantation (LT) may be indicated in cirrhotic patients with underlying pulmonary artery hypertension. However, severe pulmonary artery hypertension with mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) above 50 mmHg has even been considered a contraindication to LT. We present a cirrhotic patient with an mPAP of 56 mmHg measured using right heart catheterization (RHC) and with severely compromised physical capacity.

William M. Lee, Julie Polson – 29 June 2004

Florence Wong, Lavinia Pantea, Kenneth Sniderman – 2 June 2004 – Hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) is a functional renal disorder complicating decompensated cirrhosis. Treatments to date, except liver transplantation, have been able to improve but not normalize renal function. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic stent shunt (TIPS) as a treatment for type 1 HRS in ascitic cirrhotic patients, following improvement in systemic hemodynamics with a combination of midodrine, octreotide, and albumin (medical treatment).

Craig J. McClain, Daniell B. Hill, Shirish S. Barve – 27 May 2004

Paola Loria, Amedeo Lonardo, Nicola Carulli – 27 May 2004

Roman Huber, Birgit Hockenjos, Hubert E. Blum – 27 May 2004 – We report 13 patients (10 with chronic hepatitis C, 1 with chronic hepatitis B, 2 with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis) with persistently elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels who were treated with dimethyl‐4,4′‐dimethoxy‐5,6,5′,6‐dimethylenedioxybiphenyl‐2,2′ dicarboxylate (DDB). ALT rapidly normalized in 12/13 patients and remained normal during treatment. Unlike ALT levels, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma‐glutamyl transferase and glutamate dehydrogenase levels were not affected.

Hans Christian Spangenberg, Robert Thimme, Hubert E. Blum – 27 May 2004 – Hepatitis B virus (hepadnavirus) infections are maintained by the presence of a small and regulated number of episomal viral genomes [covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA)] in the nuclei of infected cells. Although a number of studies have measured the mean copy number of cccDNA molecules in hepadnaviral‐infected cells, the distribution of individual copy numbers have not been reported.

Jens Bukh – 27 May 2004 – Chimpanzees remain the only recognized animal model for the study of hepatitis C virus (HCV). Studies performed in chimpanzees played a critical role in the discovery of HCV and are continuing to play an essential role in defining the natural history of this important human pathogen. In the absence of a reproducible cell culture system, the infectivity titer of HCV challenge pools can be determined only in chimpanzees.

Jeremy M. Palmer, Amanda J. Robe, Alastair D. Burt, John A. Kirby, David E. J. Jones – 27 May 2004 – The autoimmune liver disease primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is characterized by the breakdown of normal immune self tolerance to pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC). How tolerance is broken to such a central and highly conserved self antigen in the initiation of autoimmunity remains unclear. One postulated mechanism is that reactivity arises to an altered form of self antigen with subsequent cross‐reactivity to native self.