Minhua Wang, Yongjun Tan, Robert H. Costa, Ai‐Xuan L. Holterman – 30 August 2004 – Disruption of the enterohepatic bile acid circulation during biliary tract obstruction leads to profound perturbation of the cholesterol and bile acid metabolic pathways. Several families of nuclear receptor proteins have been shown to modulate this critical process by regulating hepatic cholesterol catabolism and bile acid synthesis through the transcriptional control of cholesterol 7‐α hydroxylase (CYP7A1).

Philip N. Newsome, John Tsiaoussis, Steven Masson, Robert Buttery, Cameron Livingston, Ian Ansell, James A. Ross, Tariq Sethi, Peter C. Hayes, John N. Plevris – 30 August 2004 – Hepatocyte transplantation is restricted by the impaired ability of hepatocytes to engraft and survive in the damaged liver. Understanding the mechanisms that control this process will permit the development of strategies to improve engraftment. We studied changes in liver matrix during acute injury and delineated the mechanisms that perturb the successful adhesion and engraftment of hepatocytes.

Yasuhito Tanaka, Izumi Hasegawa, Takanobu Kato, Etsuro Orito, Noboru Hirashima, Subrat K. Acharya, Robert G. Gish, Anna Kramvis, Michael C. Kew, Namiko Yoshihara, Santosh Man Shrestha, Mobin Khan, Yuzo Miyakawa, Masashi Mizokami – 30 August 2004 – There are two subtypes of hepatitis B virus genotype A (HBV/A) and they are provisionally designated Aa (“a” standing for Africa/Asia) and Ae (“e” for Europe). In a case‐control study, 78 HBV/Aa, 78HBV/Ae, and 78HBV/D carriers from several countries were compared.

30 August 2004

Maciej Wojcicki, Elizabeth B. Haagsma, Annette S.H. Gouw, Maarten J.H. Slooff, Robert J. Porte – 30 August 2004 – Congenital absence of the portal vein (CAPV) is a very rare venous malformation in which mesenteric venous blood drains directly into the systemic circulation. There is no portal perfusion of the liver and no portal hypertension. This abnormality is usually coincidentally discovered in children, the majority of whom have no signs of encephalopathy and only slightly abnormal liver function tests.

Antonio Siniscalchi, Bruno Begliomini, Lesley De Pietri, Vanessa Braglia, Matteo Gazzi, Michele Masetti, Fabrizio Di Benedetto, Antonio D. Pinna, Charles M. Miller, Alberto Pasetto – 30 August 2004 – The risks and benefits of adult‐to‐adult living donor liver transplantation need to be carefully evaluated. Anesthetic management includes postoperative epidural pain relief; however, even patients with a normal preoperative coagulation profile may suffer transient postoperative coagulation derangement.

Mark W. Russo – 30 August 2004

Eric Assenat, Sabine Gerbal‐Chaloin, Dominique Larrey, Jean Saric, Jean‐Michel Fabre, Patrick Maurel, Marie‐José Vilarem, Jean Marc Pascussi – 19 August 2004 – During the inflammatory response, intrahepatic cholestasis and decreased drug metabolism are frequently observed.

Anne M. Wertheimer, Antony Bakke, Hugo R. Rosen – 13 August 2004 – Chronic liver disease has been shown to be associated with diminished humoral and cellular immune function. Although antigen‐presenting cells (APC) that initiate immune responses include various cells (B cells, endothelial cells, macrophages, etc.), the dendritic cell (DC) is a professional APC that activates naive T cells most efficiently.

Gary A. Abrams, Sachin S. Kunde, Audrey J. Lazenby, Ronald H. Clements – 13 August 2004 – Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a progressive form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) that can lead to hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis. Portal fibrosis in the absence of NASH, called isolated portal fibrosis (IPF), has received less attention and has not been classified as a spectrum of NAFLD.