Ananya Das – 30 December 2003 – Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in liver transplant recipients and several different strategies of CMV chemoprophylaxis are in practice. A cost‐effective analysis was performed to compare these strategies. A hypothetical cohort of liver transplant recipients was followed up for a year posttransplantation in a Markov model, as they made possible transitions to different states of health with respect to CMV infection and disease. Different strategies of chemoprophylaxis were compared.

Paul Angulo, Roberta A. Jorgensen, Jill C. Keach, E. Rolland Dickson, Coleman Smith, Keith D. Lindor – 30 December 2003 – Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is a safe and effective medical therapy for most patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). However, some patients show an incomplete response to UDCA therapy. Treatment with corticosteroids may be of benefit although at the expense of systemic side effects. Budesonide, a corticosteroid with an extensive first‐pass hepatic metabolism appeared promising for the treatment of PBC.

Nobuyuki Ito, Sumio Kawata, Shinji Tamura, Hiromu Nakajima, Shinichi Kiso, Ayuko Saeki, Takanori Oue, Toshiaki Hanafusa, Yuji Matsuzawa – 30 December 2003

Stanislas Pol, Marie‐Louise Michel, Christian Bréchot – 30 December 2003

Dar‐In Tai, Sun‐Lung Tsai, Young‐Mao Chen, Yen‐Ling Chuang, Cheng‐Yuan Peng, I‐Shyan Sheen, Chau‐Ting Yeh, Kenneth S. Chang, Shao‐Nan Huang, George C. Kuo, Yun‐Fan Liaw – 30 December 2003 – The hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein is a multifunctional protein. It may bind to the death domain of tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (TNFR1) and to the cytoplasmic tail of lymphotoxin‐β receptor, implying that it may be involved in the apoptosis and anti‐apoptosis signaling pathways. In vitro studies have been inconclusive regarding its ability to inhibit or enhance TNF‐α–induced apoptosis.

Carlos Hermenegildo, Pilar Monfort, Vicente Felipo – 30 December 2003 – Ammonia is considered the main agent responsible for the neurological alterations in hepatic encephalopathy. It was suggested that ammonia toxicity is mediated by activation of N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) receptors. The aim of this work was to assess, by in vivo brain microdialysis in freely moving rats, whether acute ammonia intoxication leads to activation of NMDA receptors in the cerebellum of the rat in vivo.

30 December 2003

J Neuberger, H Tang – 30 December 2003

R G Lee – 30 December 2003

T K Li – 30 December 2003