Ulrich A. Walker, Jochen Bäuerle, Montse Laguno, Javier Murillas, Stefan Mauss, Günther Schmutz, Bernhard Setzer, Rosa Miquel, José M. Gatell, Josep Mallolas – 30 January 2004 – The “D drug” HIV reverse‐transcriptase inhibitors zalcitabine, didanosine, and stavudine are relatively strong inhibitors of polymerase‐gamma compared with the “non–D drugs” zidovudine, lamivudine, and abacavir. D drugs deplete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in cultured hepatocytes. This mtDNA depletion is associated with an increased in vitro production of lactate.

Nicholas Murphy, Georg Auzinger, William Bernel, Julia Wendon – 30 January 2004 – Acute liver failure (ALF) is a rare condition characterized by the development of encephalopathy in the absence of chronic liver disease. Cerebral edema occurs in up to 80% of patients with Grade IV encephalopathy. In the current prospective randomized controlled clinical trial, we examined the effect of induced hypernatremia on the incidence of intracranial hypertension (IH) in patients with ALF. Thirty patients with ALF and Grade III or IV encephalopathy were randomized.

30 January 2004

Mark C. Bellamy, Jacqui A. Gedney, Helen Buglass, Jimmy H.C. Gooi, on behalf of the Leeds Liver Group – 30 January 2004 – Hemodynamic changes and elevation of intracellular calcium following reperfusion in human liver transplantation occur rapidly and do not match the time course of cytokine expression, therefore, we postulate involvement of other, pre‐formed substances, such as complement. We studied 40 adult patients undergoing liver transplantation.

Guido Torzilli, Natale Olivari, Daniele Del Fabbro, Piera Leoni, Adele Gendarini, Angela Palmisano, Marco Montorsi, Masatoshi Makuuchi – 30 January 2004 – Fine‐needle biopsy (FNB) is associated with problems, such as tumor seeding, which are not negligible. The aim of this study was to validate prospectively the accuracy of our diagnostic work‐up without FNB, not just to address but also to rule out from a surgical program patients with focal liver lesions (FLLs). From September 2001 to July 2003, 89 patients were seen at an outpatient clinic for FLLs.

Daniel Jaeck, Philippe Bachellier, Elie Oussoultzoglou, Jean‐Christophe Weber, Philippe Wolf – 30 January 2004 – A multicenter retrospective review of 1467 patients treated by liver resection (LR) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Europe over a 13‐year period showed a mean mortality rate of 10.6%, which was correlated with the extent of LR, the etiology of cirrhosis and the study period with an improvement during the last years. Improved 5‐year overall survival (20–51%) and disease‐free survival (20–33%) reached similar rates in cirrhotic than in non‐cirrhotic patients.

Jay H. Hoofnagle – 30 January 2004

Rubén Francés, Susana Benlloch, Pedro Zapater, José M. González, Beatriz Lozano, Carlos Muñoz, Sonia Pascual, Juan A. Casellas, Francisco Uceda, José M Palazón, Fernando Carnicer, Miguel Pérez‐Mateo, José Such – 30 January 2004 – Bacterial translocation is currently considered the main pathogenic mechanism leading to spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in patients with advanced cirrhosis and ascites. However, to the authors' knowledge there is no information regarding the characteristics of this process in humans.

Stefano Fiorucci, Elisabetta Antonelli, Eleonora Distrutti, Beatrice Severino, Roviezzo Fiorentina, Monia Baldoni, Giuseppe Caliendo, Vincenzo Santagada, Antonio Morelli, Giuseppe Cirino – 30 January 2004 – In fibroblasts, thrombin induces collagen deposition through activation of a G‐protein–coupled receptor, proteinase‐activated receptor 1 (PAR1). In the current study, we examined whether PAR1 antagonism inhibits hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation in vitro and whether it protects against fibrosis development in a rodent model of cirrhosis.

Tai‐Nin Chau, Kam‐Cheong Lee, Hung Yao, Tak‐Yin Tsang, Tat‐Chong Chow, Yiu‐Cheong Yeung, Kin‐Wing Choi, Yuk‐Keung Tso, Terence Lau, Sik‐To Lai, Ching‐Lung Lai – 30 January 2004 – Liver impairment is commonly reported in up to 60% of patients who suffer from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Here we report the clinical course and liver pathology in three SARS patients with liver impairment. Three patients who fulfilled the World Health Organization case definition of probable SARS and developed marked elevation of alanine aminotransferase were included.