Ryuta Nishitai, Cody A. Koch, Kiyoshi Ogata, Bruce E. Knudsen, Timothy B. Plummer, Kim A. Butters, Jeffrey L. Platt – 22 December 2004 – Xenogeneic hepatocyte transplantation might offer an unobtrusive alternative to whole liver allotransplantation. Having previously found that the immune response to such grafts can be controlled by immunosuppression, we sought approaches to collection and delivery that would optimize survival and function after transplantation.

Santiago Moreno, Jesús Fortún, Carmen Quereda, Ana Moreno, Ma Jesús Pérez‐Elías, Pilar Martín‐Dávila, Emilio de Vicente, Rafael Bárcena, Yolanda Quijano, Miguel García, Javier Nuño, Adolfo Martínez – 22 December 2004 – Liver transplantation is being evaluated as a therapeutic option for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)‐infected patients with end‐stage liver disease, but experience is still scarce. We describe the outcome of 4 HIV‐infected patients who underwent liver transplantation in our hospital between July 2002 and April 2003.

Victor W. Xia, Randolph H. Steadman – 22 December 2004 – This article reviews the current status and controversies of the 3 commonly used antifibrinolytics—epsilon‐aminocaproic acid, tranexamic acid and aprotinin—during liver transplantation. There is no general consensus on how, when or which antifibrinolytics should be used in liver transplantation. Although these drugs appear to reduce blood loss and decrease transfusion requirements during liver transplantation, their use is not supported uniformly in clinical trials.

John O'Grady – 1 December 2004

Gabriela De Larrañaga, Silvia Perés, Jorge Benetucci – 24 November 2004

Anthony T. Dann, Anna P. Kenyon, Paul T. Seed, Lucilla Poston, Andrew H. Shennan, Rachel M. Tribe – 24 November 2004 – Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a pregnancy‐specific liver disease associated with poor maternal and fetal outcome. The diagnosis is based on pruritus with abnormal liver function in the absence of other pathological conditions. However, pruritus in pregnancy is common, and it may be the only presenting feature in ICP.

Albert Lau, Curt Bay, Abdul Nadir – 24 November 2004

Chun‐Yi Lu, Bor‐Luen Chiang, Wei‐Kuang Chi, Mei‐Hwei Chang, Yen‐Hsuan Ni, Hsu‐Mei Hsu, Shiing‐Jer Twu, Ih‐Jen Su, Li‐Min Huang, Chin‐Yun Lee – 24 November 2004 – Neonatal immunization with hepatitis B (HB) vaccine is highly effective; however, more needs to be learned about the duration of protection and indications for boosters. We measured antibody to HB core antigen (anti‐HBc), HB surface antigen (HBsAg), and pre‐ and postbooster titers of HBsAg antibody (anti‐HBs) 15 years after primary neonatal immunization with plasma‐derived HB vaccines in 2 cohorts of 15‐year‐old children.

Bernd Kronenberger, Eva Herrmann, Florence Micol, Michael von Wagner, Stefan Zeuzem – 24 November 2004 – The aim of the present study was to compare viral kinetics between patients with chronic hepatitis C and persistently normal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels and those with elevated ALT levels.

Eyal Shteyer, Yunjun Liao, Louis J. Muglia, Paul W. Hruz, David A. Rudnick – 24 November 2004 – The liver responds to injury with regulated tissue regeneration. During early regeneration, the liver accumulates fat. Neither the mechanisms responsible for nor the functional significance of this transient steatosis have been determined. In this study, we examined patterns of gene expression associated with hepatic fat accumulation in regenerating liver and tested the hypothesis that disruption of hepatic fat accumulation would be associated with impaired hepatic regeneration.