Bin Gao, Feng Hong, Svetlana Radaeva – 25 March 2004 – Failure of interferon‐α (IFN‐α) treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a challenging obstacle for clinical and experimental hepatology. Both viral and host factors have been implicated in reducing responsiveness to IFN‐α therapy. The role of viral factors has been studied extensively and has been summarized in several review articles; however, much less attention has been paid to host factors. In this paper, we review evidence of host factor involvement in IFN‐α treatment failure.

Geeta Upadhyay, Rajesh Singh, Ashok Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar, Amit Kapoor, Madan M. Godbole – 25 March 2004 – Thyrotoxicosis may be associated with a variety of abnormalities of liver function. The pathogenesis of hepatic dysfunction in thyrotoxicosis is unknown, but has been attributed to mitochondrial dysfunction. We studied the effect of altered thyroid function on the apoptotic index in rat liver.

Naoya Yahagi, Motohiro Sekiya, Hitoshi Shimano – 25 March 2004

Adrian Reuben – 25 March 2004

Raoul Poupon – 25 March 2004

Mark D. Stegall, Jeffrey L. Platt – 22 March 2004

James Neuberger, Bridget Gunson, Stefan Hubscher, Peter Nightingale – 22 March 2004 – Identifying the risk factors associated with recurrence of primary biliary cirrhosis after liver transplantation may affect immunosuppression and increase understanding of the pathogenesis. Four hundred eighty‐five patients with PBC were followed for a median of 79 months after transplantation; histological evidence of recurrence was found in 23%. On multivariate analysis, the only risk factor identified with recurrence was the type of calcineurin inhibitor used.

Chi‐Leung Liu, See‐Ching Chan, Chung‐Mau Lo, Wai‐Kuen Tso, Sheung‐Tat Fan – 22 March 2004

Michael J. Guirl, Jeffrey S. Weinstein, Robert M. Goldstein, Marlon F. Levy, Goran B. Klintmalm – 22 March 2004 – Two‐stage total hepatectomy and liver transplantation has been reported for acute liver disease such as fulminant hepatic failure, primary graft failure, severe hepatic trauma, and spontaneous hepatic rupture secondary to hemolysis, elevated liver function tests, low platelets syndrome, and preeclampsia. This is the first report of patients with cirrhosis to undergo a 2‐stage total hepatectomy and liver transplantation.

Elizabeth J. Carey, David D. Douglas, Vijayan Balan, Hugo E. Vargas, Thomas J. Byrne, Adyr A. Moss, David C. Mulligan – 22 March 2004 – Hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a progressive, debilitating complication of end‐stage liver disease. In contrast to the well‐established reversal of HPS after deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT), little has been written about the natural course of HPS after the newer procedure of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). We describe HPS in a small series of 4 liver transplant recipients (2 DDLT; 2 LDLT) at a single center.