Cataldo Doria, Lucio Mandalá, Jan Smith, Claudio H. Vitale, Augusto Lauro, Salvatore Gruttadauria, Ignazio R. Marino, Carlo Scotti Foglieni, Mario Magnone, Victor L. Scott – 30 December 2003 – Intractable pruritus is more common in cholestatic liver diseases and may be the presenting symptom and/or major complaint of hepatitis C and/or hepatitic C virus—related cirrhosis. From September 2000 to May 2002, three patients affected by intractable pruritus secondary to hepatitis C cirrhosis that failed medical treatment were treated with a molecular adsorbent recirculating system (MARS).

Samuel Wyllie, Philip Seu, Feng Q. Gao, John A. Goss – 30 December 2003 – Very little is known about iron metabolism and the mediators of iron metabolism in liver subjected to cold storage before transplantation. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effect of cold storage on iron homeostasis in the rat liver. When livers were stored at 4°C in University of Wisconsin solution for up to 6 and 24 hours, significant increases occurred in the labile iron pool, ferritin protein, and heme oxygenase activity.

Jeffrey C. Dunkelberg, James F. Trotter, Michael Wachs, Thomas Bak, Marcello Kugelmas, Tracy Steinberg, Gregory T. Everson, Igal Kam – 30 December 2003 – Sirolimus is a new immunosuppressive agent increasingly being used in liver transplant recipients. There is concern that sirolimus may be associated with wound complications and hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT). We have used sirolimus as primary immunosuppression in 170 liver transplant recipients and therefore reviewed our experience with wound complications and HAT in our cohort of patients.

James Neuberger – 30 December 2003 – Liver transplantation remains the only effective treatment for end‐stage primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). It appears now well accepted that the disease recurs in the allograft. The diagnosis of recurrent PBC is made on the basis of a consistent history and demonstrating the histologic features of PBC on liver biopsy and exclusion of other causes of bile duct damage

Scott J. Cotler, Sheldon Cotler, Michele Gambera, Enrico Benedetti, Donald M. Jensen, Giuliano Testa – 30 December 2003 – The involvement of healthy living donors and the degree of technical difficulty make adult living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) different from any other surgical procedure. We surveyed 100 liver transplant surgeons to assess their views on the complex issues raised by LDLT. Data were collected at meetings on LDLT and by electronic mail. The study instrument was divided into general, donor, surgeon, recipient, and donor and recipient issues.

W. Rogier ten Hove, Bart van Hoek, Ingeborg M. Bajema, Jan Ringers, Johan H.J.M. van Krieken, Emma L. Lagaaij – 30 December 2003 – The transplanted liver has been shown to be particularly capable of inducing tolerance. An explanation may be the presence of chimerism. Cells of donor origin have been found in recipient tissues after transplantation of any solid organ. Evidence for the presence of cells of recipient origin within the transplanted liver is very limited. We investigated whether nonlymphoid cells of recipient origin can be found within human liver allografts.

François Durand, Jacques Belghiti – 30 December 2003

Karen L. Hardinger, Bing Ho, Mark A. Schnitzler, Niraj Desai, Jeffrey Lowell, Surendra Shenoy, William Chapman, Jeffrey S. Crippin – 30 December 2003 – Bone disease has emerged as a serious and complex complication after liver transplantation. The purpose of this study is to determine risk factors for fracture and bone loss after liver transplantation. Dual‐energy x‐ray absorptiometry (DEXA) of the lumbar spine was performed routinely pretransplantation, 6 months posttransplantation, and at yearly intervals thereafter at our center.

Harvey J. Woehlck, Christopher P. Johnson, Allan M. Roza, Mark B. Adams – 30 December 2003 – Reperfusion syndrome during liver transplantation and anaphylaxis are clinical syndromes that share similarities in physiological responses. The liver and intestine contain a variety of immunologically active cells, including mast cells. The purpose of this study is to investigate the possibility that mast‐cell degranulation occurs routinely during transplantation and thereby contributes to hemodynamic instability and coagulopathy.

Mohamed H. Wali, Mathis Heydtmann, Rebecca F. Harrison, Bridget K. Gunson, David J. Mutimer – 30 December 2003 – Predictors of hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐related liver disease posttransplantation are still unclear. The impact of HCV genotype on outcome of transplantation has been studied, but conclusions are not in agreement. The role of HCV genotype 4 on the result of liver transplantation requires further study. The aim of this study is to examine the outcome of liver transplantation for patients with HCV genotype‐4 infection.