B Le Guen, G Squadrito, B Nalpas, P Berthelot, S Pol, C Brechot – 30 December 2003 – Recent studies performed in Japan have suggested that hepatitis C virus (HCV) genome heterogeneity might be taken as a predictive virological parameter of response to interferon alfa (IFN‐α) treatment. However, there is presently no information on the impact of this virological parameter in patients from Western countries infected by different HCV genotypes.

K Kobayashi, M Horiuchi, T Saheki – 30 December 2003 – Adult‐onset type II citrullinemia is characterized by which deficiency of argininosuccinate synthetase (ASS) protein is found specifically in the liver of patients. Our recent study using differential messenger RNA (mRNA) display showed that the expression of human pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor (hPSTI) mRNA increases significantly in the liver of all type II patients tested. In the present work, we found that the concentration of hPSTI protein was higher in the liver of type II patients than controls.

A Nishio, J Van de Water, P S Leung, R Joplin, J M Neuberger, J Lake, A Bjorkland, T H Totterman, M Peters, H J Worman, A A Ansari, R L Coppel, M E Gershwin – 30 December 2003 – Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is an autoimmune liver disease characterized by destruction of intrahepatic bile ducts. Although the pathogenesis of this disease is still unknown, high titers of antimitochondrial autoantibodies (AMA) have long been recognized in patient sera. However, little is known about the presence of AMA in bile.

Jeffrey S. Crippin – 30 December 2003 – Key Points 1Bone disease is a common problem in patients with chronic liver disease and liver transplants.2The cause of bone disease in these patients is multifactorial.3Bone disease worsens initially after liver transplantation, with subsequent improvement over time.

Amadeo Marcos, Mark Orloff, Luis Mieles, Ann T. Olzinski, John F. Renz, James V. Sitzmann – 30 December 2003 – Right‐lobe living donor liver transplantation has emerged as an alternative to cadaveric transplantation. An appreciation of the unique anatomy and behavior of the right lobe has emerged and has precipitated technical modifications. Living donors underwent right lobectomy, including preservation of significant inferior hepatic veins.

Jawad Ahmad, S. Forrest Dodson, A. Jake Demetris, John J. Fung, A. Obaid Shakil – 30 December 2003 – Liver transplant recipients with recurrent hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection often have histological hepatitis, and in some patients, graft failure develops. The aim of this nonrandomized study is to determine the efficacy and tolerability of interferon alfa (IFN alfa) alone and IFN alfa and ribavirin combination therapy in such patients.

Nina Singh, Marilyn M. Wagener, Timothy Gayowski – 30 December 2003 – Seasonal variation has been documented in the frequency and attributable mortality of a number of medical illnesses and infections in the nontransplantation setting. Whether similar trends exist in transplant recipients is not known. Seasonal rates of overall and early mortality and contributory variables stratified by season were assessed in 190 consecutive liver transplant recipients who underwent transplantation over a 10‐year period.

James Y. Findlay, Steven R. Rettke, Mark H. Ereth, David J. Plevak, Ruud A.F. Krom, Ronald P. Kufner – 30 December 2003 – The effect of an aprotinin infusion on blood and blood product transfusion during adult primary orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) was investigated in a prospective, randomized, double‐blind study. Sixty‐three patients were enrolled; 33 patients were administered an aprotinin regimen of a 1,000,000‐KIU loading dose, followed by a 250,000‐KIU/h infusion during surgery, and 30 patients were administered equivalent volumes of normal saline.

Robert J. Porte, Maarten J.H. Slooff – 30 December 2003

S. Breanndan Moore – 30 December 2003