Chien‐Jen Chen, Li‐Yu Wang, Yin‐Chu Chien – 26 April 2004

Jesus A. Villanueva, Charles H. Halsted – 26 April 2004 – Alcoholic liver disease is associated with abnormal hepatic methionine metabolism, including increased levels of homocysteine and S‐adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) and reduced levels of S‐adenosylmethionine (SAM) and glutathione (GSH).

Karla J. Helbig, Andrew Ruszkiewicz, Ljiljana Semendric, Hugh A.J. Harley, Shaun R. McColl, Michael R. Beard – 26 April 2004 – The factors that regulate lymphocyte traffic in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) are not completely defined. Interferon (IFN)‐inducible T cell α chemoattractant (I‐TAC) is a relatively new member of the CXCR3 chemokine ligand family that selectively recruits activated T cells to sites of inflammation. To determine if I‐TAC plays a role in CHC, we investigated I‐TAC expression in hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐infected liver biopsy material.

Tri H. Le, Stephen H. Caldwell, Jan A. Redick, Bonnie L. Sheppard, Christine A. Davis, Kristen O. Arseneau, Julia C. Iezzoni, Elizabeth E. Hespenheide, Abdullah Al‐Osaimi, Theresa C. Peterson – 26 April 2004 – Megamitochondria with crystalline inclusions (MMC) have been previously described in nonalcoholic fatty liver; however, their distribution within hepatic zones is unknown. We sought to determine this distribution from the core liver biopsy specimens of 31 patients: 8 males and 23 females, age range 21 to 72 years.

Svetlana Radaeva, Rui Sun, Hong‐na Pan, Feng Hong, Bin Gao – 26 April 2004 – The central role of T cell activation in hepatocellular injury has been well documented. In this article, we provide evidence suggesting that T cells may also play a protective role in liver disease by releasing interleukin‐22 (IL‐22), a recently identified T cell‐derived cytokine whose biological significance is unclear.

Philip Hilgard, Thomas Schreiter, Richard J. Stockert, Guido Gerken, Ulrich Treichel – 26 April 2004 – Hemolysis in patients with advanced alcoholic liver disease is a common clinical problem and indicates an unfavorable prognosis. In many cases, the etiology of the hemolysis remains unknown. We observed three patients with alcoholic liver disease, suffering from severe hemolytic anemia, requiring multiple blood transfusions. Steroid therapy was ineffective and two of the patients died.

Heiner Wedemeyer, Elmar Jäckel, Johannes Wiegand, Markus Cornberg, Michael P. Manns – 26 April 2004

Qing Liu, Zhong Ping Duan, Da Kang Ha, Stig Bengmark, Jelica Kurtovic, Stephen M. Riordan – 26 April 2004 – Minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) is an important disorder that may seriously impair daily functioning and quality of life in patients with cirrhosis. Treatment with lactulose is of benefit. The possible role of synbiotics (probiotics and fermentable fiber) has not been assessed. We screened 97 consecutive cirrhotic patients without overt hepatic encephalopathy for MHE using the number connection test and measurement of brainstem auditory evoked potentials.

Alexis Laurent, Carole Nicco, Jeanne Tran Van Nhieu, Didier Borderie, Christiane Chéreau, Filomena Conti, Patrick Jaffray, Olivier Soubrane, Yvon Calmus, Bernard Weill, Frédéric Batteux – 26 April 2004 – Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, frequently associated with obesity, can lead to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and cirrhosis. The pathophysiology of NASH is poorly understood, and no effective treatment is available. In view of a potential deleterious role for reactive oxygen species (ROS), we investigated the origin of ROS overproduction in NASH.

Shuji Matsumura, Judy Van de Water, Patrick Leung, Joseph A. Odin, Kazuhide Yamamoto, Gregory J. Gores, Keith Mostov, Aftab A. Ansari, Ross L. Coppel, Yasushi Shiratori, M. Eric Gershwin – 26 April 2004 – Anti‐mitochondrial antibodies (AMAs) have long been recognized as a serological hallmark of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). Although high titers of immunoglobulin (Ig)A AMAs are found in bile, saliva, and urine of patients, a pathogenic role for this antibody has remained elusive.