Maud Bessems, Benedict M. Doorschodt, Arlène K. van Vliet, Thomas M. van Gulik – 21 April 2005 – For experimental machine perfusion (MP) of the liver, the modified University of Wisconsin solution (UW‐G) is most often used. In our search for an enriched MP preservation solution, Polysol was developed. Polysol is enriched with various amino acids, vitamins, and other nutrients for the liver metabolism. The aim of this study was to compare Polysol with UW‐G for MP preservation of the liver. Rat livers were preserved during 24 hours with hypothermic MP using UW‐G (n = 5) or Polysol (n = 5).

Neal R. Barshes, G. Douglas Myers, Dean Lee, Saul J. Karpen, Timothy C. Lee, Akash J. Patel, Milton Finegold, John A. Goss – 21 April 2005 – Graft‐versus‐host disease (GVHD) often occurs after bone marrow transplantation (BMT). GVHD may lead to cirrhosis or complete destruction of the bile ducts, and few effective treatment options exist for such cases. Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) has been described as an option, but to date the patient survival, graft survival, and GVHD recurrence rates after OLT have been unknown.

Hector Rodriguez‐Luna, Hugo E. Vargas – 21 April 2005 – Key Points

Miguel García González, Carlos Pera Madrazo, Ángel Bernardos Rodríguez, Manuel Gómez Gutiérrez, J. Ignacio Herrero, José Mir Pallardó, Jorge Ortiz de Urbina, Pascual Parrilla Paricio – 21 April 2005 – Triple therapy combining an anticalcineurin agent, corticosteroids, and azathioprine (AZA) in liver transplantation has been frequently applied, particularly in Europe. Debates have arisen concerning the use of a third drug (AZA), mainly in patients receiving tacrolimus (TAC).

Ayano Inui, Tsuyoshi Sogo, Haruki Komatsu, Hiroshi Miyakawa, Tomoo Fujisawa – 21 April 2005 – Graft dysfunction mimicking autoimmune hepatitis rarely develops after liver transplantation for nonautoimmune disease. The mechanism(s) and causes of de novo autoimmune hepatitis are unknown. We examined autoantibodies serially in a patient with de novo autoimmune hepatitis and in patients without de novo autoimmune hepatitis after liver transplantation.

Saiho Ko, Ichiro Tanaka, Hiromichi Kanehiro, Hideki Kanokogi, Jun‐ichi Ori, Midori Shima, Akira Yoshioka, Alan Giles, Yoshiyuki Nakajima – 21 April 2005 – The cause of hemophilia is deficiency of coagulation factor VIII production in the liver, which can be cured by liver transplantation. Because the hepatic function of hemophilia patients is quite normal except for production of factor VIII, auxiliary partial orthotopic liver transplantation (APOLT) is beneficial in that patient survival is secured by preserving native liver even in the event of graft loss.

Anna S. F. Lok – 21 April 2005

21 April 2005

Noriyo Yamashiki, Ryosuke Tateishi, Haruhiko Yoshida, Shuichiro Shiina, Takuma Teratani, Shinpei Sato, Norio Mine, Yuji Kondo, Takao Kawabe, Masao Omata – 21 April 2005 – The dropout from the waiting list for liver transplantation among patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is reportedly as high as 12% to 40% per year, mostly due to tumor progression. Considering the scarcity of donor organs, it would be beneficial if we could retain them within the Milan criteria with a bridging therapy.

Marco Vivarelli, Alessandro Cucchetti, Fabio Piscaglia, Giuliano La Barba, Luigi Bolondi, Antonino Cavallari, Antonio Daniele Pinna – 21 April 2005 – To confirm recent observations about the relationship between immunosuppression and the recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after liver transplantation (LT), we retrospectively analyzed 70 consecutive HCC patients who underwent LT and received cyclosporine (CsA)–based immunosuppression.