Christian V. Hulzebos, Charles M.A. Bijleveld, Frans Stellaard, Folkert Kuipers, Vaclav Fidler, Maarten J.H. Slooff, Paul M.J.G. Peeters, Pieter J.J. Sauer, Henkjan J. Verkade – 29 June 2004 – Hyperlipidemia is a common side effect of cyclosporine A (CsA) after solid organ transplantation. CsA also markedly reduces the synthesis rate of bile salts in rats and can inhibit biliary bile salt secretion. It is not known, however, whether CsA inhibits the synthesis of bile salts in humans, and whether the hyperlipidemic effects of CsA are related to bile salt metabolism.

Francis Y. Yao, John P. Roberts – 29 June 2004

Didier Samuel – 29 June 2004

Kirti Shetty, Kate Timmins, Colleen Brensinger, Emma E. Furth, Sushil Rattan, Weijing Sun, Mark Rosen, Michael Soulen, Abraham Shaked, K. Rajender Reddy, Kim M. Olthoff – 29 June 2004 – Appropriate patient selection is crucial in ensuring acceptable outcomes from orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) has elected to prioritize HCC patients for OLT based on criteria of tumor burden.

Thomas Dethloff, Bent Adel Hansen, Fin Stolze Larsen – 29 June 2004 – Arterial hyperammonemia and cerebral vasodilatation correlate with cerebral herniation in patients with fulminant hepatic failure (FHF). Tacrolimus is a calcineurin inhibitor that passes the blood‐brain barrier and may increase cerebrovascular tone and restrict cerebral ammonia influx. In this study, we determined if tacrolimus prevents cerebral vasodilatation and high intracranial pressure (ICP) in the rat with portacaval anastomosis (PCA) challenged to high arterial ammonia (NH4+) concentration.

Sammy Saab, Denise Kalmaz, Nupoor A. Gajjar, Jonathan Hiatt, Francisco Durazo, Steven Han, Douglas G. Farmer, R. Mark Ghobrial, Hasan Yersiz, Leonard I. Goldstein, Charles R. Lassman, Ronald W. Busuttil – 29 June 2004 – Interferon alfa has been increasingly used against recurrent hepatitis C (HCV) disease in post‐liver transplant (LT) recipients. A serious potential adverse effect is acute rejection. We reviewed our experience using interferon‐based therapy (interferon or pegylated interferon with or without ribavirin) for treating recurrent HCV in LT recipients.

Martin Vogel, Esther Voigt, Hans‐Christoph Michaelis, Thomas Sudhop, Martin Wolff, Andreas Türler, Tilman Sauerbruch, Jürgen Kurt Rockstroh, Ulrich Spengler – 29 June 2004 – Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has improved the life expectancy of HIV‐infected patients, allowing orthotopic liver transplantation as a reasonable treatment option for selected patients with terminal liver disease.

Robert Sutcliffe, Donal Maguire, Andrej Mróz, Bernard Portmann, John O'Grady, Matthew Bowles, Paolo Muiesan, Mohamed Rela, Nigel Heaton – 29 June 2004 – There is no accurate method to determine the functional significance of bile duct strictures after liver transplantation, and although biliary reconstructive surgery (Roux‐en‐Y hepaticojejunostomy, HJ) is the second‐line treatment in patients with persistent allograft dysfunction following failed endoscopic therapy, there is no evidence to support this approach.

Robert D. Gibbons – 29 June 2004

Nasia Safdar, Adnan Said, Michael R. Lucey – 29 June 2004 – Selective digestive decontamination (SDD) refers to the use of antimicrobials to reduce the burden of aerobic gram‐negative bacteria and/or yeast in the intestinal tract to prevent infections caused by these organisms. Liver transplant patients are highly vulnerable to bacterial infection particularly with gram‐negative organisms within the first month after transplantation, and SDD has been proposed as a potential measure to prevent these infections. However, the benefit of this procedure remains controversial.