Eduardo P. Beltroy, James A. Richardson, Jay D. Horton, Stephen D. Turley, John M. Dietschy – 20 September 2005 – Niemann‐Pick type C (NPC) disease develops as a result of mutations in the NPC1 gene that encodes a protein involved in the net movement of unesterified cholesterol from the late endosomal/lysosomal compartment to the metabolically active pool of sterol in the cytosol of virtually every cell in the body.

Yasuhiro Nakayama, Yukihiro Shimizu, Katsuharu Hirano, Kazumi Ebata, Masami Minemura, Akiharu Watanabe, Toshiro Sugiyama – 20 September 2005 – Expression of costimulatory molecules is significantly upregulated in various organs in an animal model of severe hepatitis induced by injection of Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In the present study, we examined whether blockade of costimulatory signals by CTLA‐4Ig can suppress the liver injury in this model.

David E.J. Jones – 20 September 2005

Zhiping Li, Mark J. Soloski, Anna Mae Diehl – 20 September 2005 – Dietary factors promote obesity and obesity‐related disorders, such as fatty liver disease. Natural killer T (NKT) cells are components of the innate immune system that regulate proinflammatory (Th‐1) and anti‐inflammatory (Th‐2) immune responses.

Harvey J. Alter – 20 September 2005

Claudia O. Zein, Roberta A. Jorgensen, Bart Clarke, Doris E. Wenger, Jill C. Keach, Paul Angulo, Keith D. Lindor – 20 September 2005 – Bone loss is a well‐recognized complication of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). Although it has been suggested that alendronate might improve bone mineral density (BMD) in PBC, no randomized placebo‐controlled trial has been conducted. The primary aim of this study was to compare the effects of alendronate versus placebo on BMD and biochemical measurements of bone turnover in patients with PBC‐associated bone loss.

Cristina Ripoll, Rafael Bañares, Diego Rincón, María‐Vega Catalina, Oreste Lo Iacono, Magdalena Salcedo, Gerardo Clemente, Oscar Núñez, Ana Matilla, Luis‐Miguel Molinero – 20 September 2005 – Measurements of portal pressure, usually obtained via the hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) may be a prognostic marker in cirrhosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of HVPG on survival in patients with cirrhosis in addition to the Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score.

Adrian Reuben – 20 September 2005

Ariane Mallat, Christophe Hezode, Sophie Lotersztajn – 20 September 2005

Peter Simmonds, Jens Bukh, Christophe Combet, Gilbert Deléage, Nobuyuki Enomoto, Stephen Feinstone, Phillippe Halfon, Geneviève Inchauspé, Carla Kuiken, Geert Maertens, Masashi Mizokami, Donald G. Murphy, Hiroaki Okamoto, Jean‐Michel Pawlotsky, François Penin, Erwin Sablon, Tadasu Shin‐I, Lieven J. Stuyver, Heinz‐Jürgen Thiel, Sergei Viazov, Amy J.