David Brandhagen – 30 August 2004 – We observed the development of phenotypic hereditary haemochromatosis in a non‐hereditary haemochromatosis liver transplant recipient, following transplantation with a liver from a C282Y heterozygous donor. No cause for secondary iron overload was identified. Subsequent sequencing of the HFE gene of both donor and recipient revealed a strong candidate for a novel pathogenic HFE mutation.

30 August 2004

Mònica Guevara, Glòria Fernández‐Esparrach, Carlo Alessandria, Aldo Torre, Carlos Terra, Xavier Montañà, Carlos Piera, Maria Luisa Alvarez, Wladimiro Jiménez, Pere Ginès, Vicente Arroyo – 30 August 2004 – Patients with cirrhosis are frequently submitted to radiological procedures that require the administration of contrast media. Contrast media is a well‐known cause of renal failure, particularly in the presence of some predisposing conditions. However, it is not known whether cirrhosis constitutes a risk factor for contrast media–induced renal failure.

Yasuhiko Sugawara, Masatoshi Makuuchi – 30 August 2004

Jan Stange – 30 August 2004

Marie‐Pierre Bralet, Jean‐Charles Duclos‐Vallee, Denis Castaing, Didier Samuel, Catherine Guettier – 30 August 2004

Lynn B. Dustin – 30 August 2004 – Immunoglobulin GM and KM allotypes—genetic markers of γ and κ chains, respectively—are associated with immune responsiveness to several infectious pathogens and with survival in certain viral epidemics. We hypothesized that GM and KM allotypes affect the outcome of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. To test this hypothesis, we serologically allotyped 100 persons with well‐documented clearance of HCV infection and 198 matched persistently infected persons.

Luping Guo, Katharine S. Richardson, Lindsay M. Tucker, Mark A. Doll, David W. Hein, Gavin E. Arteel – 30 August 2004 – It has been shown that the renin‐angiotensin system (RAS) plays key roles in the development of fibrosis in numerous organs, including the liver. Other studies have suggested that the RAS also may play roles in diseases of chronic inflammation. However, whether the RAS also can mediate acute inflammation in liver is unclear.

Federico P. Gómez, Graciela Martínez‐Pallí, Joan A. Barberà, Josep Roca, Miquel Navasa, Robert Rodríguez‐Roisin – 30 August 2004 – The mechanism of orthodeoxia (OD), or decreased partial pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO2) from supine to upright, a characteristic feature of hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS), has never been comprehensively elucidated.

Danny Ka‐Ho Wong, Man‐Fung Yuen, HeJun Yuan, Simon Siu‐Man Sum, Chee‐Kin Hui, Jeff Hall, Ching‐Lung Lai – 30 August 2004 – This study examined a signal amplification assay, the Invader assay, for the quantitation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) in liver biopsies and sera. DNA was extracted from liver biopsy and serum samples were collected from 16 hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)‐positive and 36 antibody‐to‐HBeAg‐positive (anti–HBe‐positive) chronic hepatitis B patients. The amount of total HBV DNA and cccDNA was measured using the Invader assay.