Richard B. Freeman – 20 April 2004

Alexander Choukèr, André Martignoni, Martin Dugas, Wolfgang Eisenmenger, Rolf Schauer, Ines Kaufmann, Gutav Schelling, Florian Löhe, Karl‐Walter Jauch, Klaus Peter, Manfred Thiel – 20 April 2004 – In general, the liver is considered to be larger in males than in females. In the present study, data on liver weight from 728 legal autopsies were analyzed with respect to gender, age, body height (BH), body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI), and body surface area (BSA).

Rana Paramvir Sokhi, Abhinandana Anantharaju, Ravi Kondaveeti, Steven D. Creech, Khondker K. Islam, David H. Van Thiel – 20 April 2004 – Osteoporosis is an important and common complication in patients with chronic liver disease. The goal of this study was to determine the bone mineral density (BMD) in different subgroups among pretransplant cirrhotic patients. BMD of the lumbar vertebrae (L) and femoral neck (F) were obtained in 104 consecutive cirrhotic patients. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to compare the BMD among various groups.

Rainer Lück, Jan Böger, Ernst Kuse, Jürgen Klempnauer, Björn Nashan – 20 April 2004 – It has been demonstrated that achieving therapeutic levels of cyclosporine (CsA) exposure in the first days posttransplant is critical for effective prevention of rejection. In patients receiving oral CsA, it has been shown that C2‐monitoring is superior to trough (trough level [C0]) measurement. Intravenous administration may overcome the problem of CsA absorption dysfunction seen in some patients. Currently, little evidence is available concerning CsA exposure after intravenous application.

Charmaine A. Stewart, Jason Wertheim, Kim Olthoff, Emma E. Furth, Colleen Brensinger, James Markman, Abraham Shaked – 20 April 2004 – Ascites after liver transplantation, although uncommon, presents a serious clinical dilemma. The hemodynamic changes that support the development of ascites before liver transplantation are resolved after transplant; therefore, persistent ascites (PA) after liver transplantation is unexpected and poorly characterized. The aim of this study was to define the clinical factors associated with PA after liver transplantation.

Charalambos Antoniades, Candice Macdonald, Alexander Knisely, Christopher Taylor, Suzanne Norris – 20 April 2004 – Antiretroviral therapy is not uncommonly associated with drug toxicities, and hepatotoxicity occurs in approximately 20% of individuals prescribed antiretroviral therapy. Mitochondrial toxicity causing lactic acidosis is a rare but fatal complication that has been described in some HIV‐infected patients treated with nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitors.

Teresa Casanovas‐Taltavull, M. Guadalupe Ercilla, Cecilia P. Gonzalez, Elias Gil, Odette Viñas, Concha Cañas, Aurora Casanova, Juan Figueras, Teresa Serrano, Luis A. Casais – 20 April 2004 – Recurrent HCV infection after liver transplantation is universal and sustained clearance of HCV‐RNA rarely occurs. The aim of this study was to characterize cell‐mediated immunity and cytokine production in HCV‐infected patients after liver transplant.

Silvio Balzan, Olivier Farges, Daniele Sommacale, Federica Dondero, Maryléne Plasse, Jacques Belghiti – 20 April 2004 – The split‐liver technique is an important means to alleviating donor shortage. Its development is, at least in part, hindered by the risk of biliary complications, particularly when splitting is performed ex situ. We present a simple technique aimed at improving the identification of the biliary anatomy at the hilar level and the safety of the procedure. (Liver Transpl 2004;10:703–705.)

Giuliano La Barba, Marco Vivarelli, Rita Golfieri, Maria Rosa Tamè, Mauro Caputo, Fabio Piscaglia, Antonino Cavallari – 20 April 2004

Abhinav Humar, Khalid Khwaja, Brooke Glessing, Elizabeth Larson, Massimo Asolati, Brenda Durand, John Lake, William D. Payne – 20 April 2004 – On August 21, 1999, Region 7 of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) adopted a policy of regionwide sharing of cadaver livers for UNOS Status 1 recipients. We examined what impact this policy had at our center on their waiting times, waiting list mortality, and outcomes.