Ansgar W. Lohse, Karl‐Hermann Meyer zum Büschenfelde, Beate Franz, Stephan Kanzler, Guido Gerken, Hans‐Peter Dienes – 30 December 2003 – Some patients with autoimmune liver disease present with a clinical and/or histological picture showing characteristic findings of both autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). Various names, mostly overlap syndrome, have been used to describe these cases, which have thus far not been more closely characterized.

Ke‐Qin Hu, Myron J. Tong – 30 December 2003 – It is well known that hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection may progress to cirrhosis and is linked to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Previous studies have shown that compensated HCV‐cirrhosis is related to a certain morbidity and mortality in European patients, but little is known in regard to the clinical outcomes of a similar group of patients in the United States.

Claude Degott, Elie Serge Zafrani, Patrice Callard, Beverley Balkau, Renée Eug Poupon, Raoul Poupon – 30 December 2003 – The semiquantitative histopathological analysis of the liver biopsies obtained before and after 4 years of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) therapy in a cohort of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) patients is reported. The relationships between elementary histological lesions before treatment and their progression under therapy were assessed.

Jean‐François Colin, Dominique Cazals‐Hatem, Marie Anne Loriot, Michèle Martinot‐Peignoux, Bach Nga Pham, Anne Auperin, Claude Degott, Jean‐Pierre Benhamou, Serge Erlinger, Dominique Valla, Patrick Marcellin – 30 December 2003 – The aim of this study was to assess the influence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection on chronic hepatitis B.

Annarosa Floreani, Anna Baragiotta, Vincenzo Baldo, Tiziana Menegon, Fabio Farinati, Remo Naccarato – 30 December 2003 – Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is rarely reported as a complication of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). However, data suggest that patients with PBC have an increased incidence of breast cancer when compared with the general population.

Harri A. Järveläinen, Che Fang, Magnus Ingelman‐Sundberg, Kai O. Lindros – 30 December 2003 – To better understand how gut‐derived endotoxins influence alcohol‐induced liver injury and the expression of inflammatory cytokines a new animal model was developed. After 2 weeks on a modified ethanol‐containing liquid diet, some rats also were infused with endotoxin via osmotic minipumps for 4 additional weeks. Ethanol diet alone increased plasma endotoxin threefold to 9.3 pg/mL. Endotoxin infusion increased the levels to 388 and 513 pg/mL in controls and ethanol‐fed animals, respectively.

Steven L. Zacks, Robert S. Sandler, Andrea K. Biddle, Matthew A. Mauro, Robert S. Brown – 30 December 2003 – Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) and surgical distal splenorenal shunt (DSRS) are treatments for complications of portal hypertension. TIPS is widely used because it is relatively easy to place. Because TIPS may malfunction over time, it is unclear whether TIPS is superiorto DSRS in patients with Child's class A cirrhosis who enjoy a longer survival. This study compared the cost‐effectiveness of TIPS to DSRSfor portal hypertension in Child's class A cirrhosis.

Zong‐Zhi Huang, José M. Mato, Gary Kanel, Shelly C. Lu – 30 December 2003 – Liver‐specific and non–liver‐specific methionine adenosyltransferase (MAT) are products of two genes, MAT1A and MAT2A, respectively, that catalyze the formation ofS‐adenosylmethionine (SAM), the principal methyl donor. Mature liver expresses mainly MAT1A. We showed a switch from MAT1A to MAT2A gene expression in human liver cancer cells that may offer a growth advantage.

Sylvie Deuffic, Laurent Buffat, Thierry Poynard, Alain‐Jacques Valleron – 30 December 2003 – A backcalculation approach allows a reconstruction of the history of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in France and predictions of mortality from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) related to the virus. The model uses information from the literature about the natural history of the disease, epidemiological data about infected subjects in three French cohorts, and mortality data from national statistics.

Albert Pol, Maria Calvo, Albert Lu, Carlos Enrich – 30 December 2003 – The sinusoidal plasma membrane of the hepatocyte is organized into functional and structural microdomains whose origin, maintenance, and functioning are closely related with the endocytic compartment. Three different subcellular fractions, from rat liver, containing caveolin‐1, the structural protein of caveolae, were morphologically and biochemically characterized.