J L Dienstag – 30 December 2003 – Such nonpercutaneous routes of hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission as sexual and perinatal spread are relatively inefficient. Several observations have been cited to support a role for sexual transmission of hepatitis C. Approximately 10% of persons with reported cases of acute hepatitis C in the United States report a history of potential sexual exposure. Anecdotal cases of sexual transmission have been reported, and HCV nucleotide sequence homology has been observed in viral isolates from sexual partners.

K R Feingold, C Grunfeld – 30 December 2003

C Albrecht, D K Meijer, C Lebbe, H Sagesser, B N Melgert, K Poelstra, J Reichen – 30 December 2003 – Endotoxin is thought to play a major role in cirrhotic liver disease. Cyclo‐oxygenase inhibitors were shown to be partially protective against endotoxin but cannot be used in cirrhotic patients because of renal side‐effects.

Monika Hurtova, Jean‐Charles Duclos‐Vallée, Catherine Johanet, Jean‐Francçois Emile, Anne‐Marie Roque‐Afonso, Cyrille Feray, Henri Bismuth, Didier Samuel – 30 December 2003 – A 34‐year‐old woman underwent orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) for decompensated type 1 autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). She was administered standard tripledrug immunosuppressive therapy (cyclosporine, steroids, and azathioprine).

Stefan G. Hübscher – 30 December 2003 – Approximately 20% to 30% of patients undergoing liver transplantation for autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) develop features of recurrent disease. Diagnostic criteria for recurrent AIH are similar to those used in the nontransplanted liver and include, in varying combinations, biochemical, serological, and histological abnormalities and steroid dependency.

Gitte Irene Strauss, Kirsten Møller, Søren Holm, Bjørn Sperling, Gitte Moos Knudsen, Fin Stolze Larsen – 30 December 2003 – Mechanical hyperventilation is often used to postpone or ameliorate intracranial hypertension in patients with fulminant hepatic failure (FHF). Because such treatment may critically reduce cerebral blood flow (CBF), bedside techniques to monitor CBF are warranted.

Parthi Srinivasan, Matthew J. Bowles, Paolo Muiesan, Nigel D. Heaton, Mohamed Rela – 30 December 2003 – The success of the triangulation technique for hepatic venous anastomosis in left lateral segment liver transplantation has led to standardization of this procedure. We report a case of syndromic biliary atresia with absent inferior vena cava in which we constructed a neo cava to implant a living related left lateral segment graft by using the triangulation technique.

Cosme Manzarbeitia, David J. Reich, Kenneth D. Rothstein, Leonard E. Braitman, Scott Levin, Santiago J. Munoz – 30 December 2003 – With improvements in surgical technique and the advent of new and more effective immunosuppressive agents, survival rates in liver transplant recipients have dramatically improved. However, hyperlipidemia frequently develops in patients administered cyclosporine‐based immunosuppression long‐term, although it appears to occur less often with newer, tacrolimus‐based regimens.

Sanjiv Saigal, Suzanne Norris, Parthi Srinivasan, Paolo Muiesan, Mohamed Rela, Nigel Heaton, John O'Grady – 30 December 2003 – Preexisting malignancy is considered a relative contraindication to orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) because of the risk of tumor recurrence. The purpose of this study is to assess the outcome of OLT in patients with a preexistent malignant state.

A. B. van As, Z. Lotz, M. Tyler, D. Kahn – 30 December 2003 – The conventional technique of liver transplantation involves the initial perfusion of the graft with portal blood. However, recent evidence suggests that initial arterialization of the graft may be better. The aim of this study is to evaluate the timing of arterialization on reperfusion injury, hepatocellular injury, and endothelial cell function after liver transplantation. Large white X Landrace pigs (n = 24) were subjected to orthotopic liver transplantation.