D Sansonno, L Gesualdo, C Manno, F P Schena, F Dammacco – 30 December 2003 – Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) may be a component of a generalized vasculitis as well as a component of the clinical expression of type‐II mixed cryoglobulinemia (MC). Several studies have established a striking association between hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and MC.

S E Battaglia, J J Pretto, L B Irving, R M Jones, P W Angus – 30 December 2003 – This prospective study evaluated pulmonary gas exchange in patients with severe liver disease, its relationship to intrapulmonary shunting, and its response to liver transplantation. Detailed clinical examinations, chest radiographs, and arterial blood gas estimations were performed on 74 consecutive patients before and after liver transplantation. Fifty percent of the 74 patients had a widened alveolar‐arterial (A‐a) oxygen gradient (> 15 mm Hg) and 45% a reduced PaCO2 (< 35 mm Hg).

B L Shneider, V L Fox, K B Schwarz, C L Watson, M Ananthanarayanan, S Thevananther, D M Christie, W Hardikar, K D Setchell, G Mieli‐Vergani, F J Suchy, A P Mowat – 30 December 2003 – The recent cloning of a human sodium‐dependent bile acid transporter (NTCP) permits analysis of its expression in human liver disease and investigation of potential primary defects in its expression. NTCP from normal human liver (NHL) was first characterized in detail. Northern blotting of RNA from NHL revealed a 1.8‐kb NTCP transcript.

M Omori, R P Evarts, N Omori, Z Hu, E R Marsden, S S Thorgeirsson – 30 December 2003 – The existence of a facultative hepatic stem cell compartment in bile ductules that participates in the renewal process of epithelial cell populations in the liver is well documented. The present study was undertaken to determine whether the immature bile epithelium responds differently to growth stimulus induced by bile stasis to that seen in the adult animal.

H Ducoin, J El‐Khoury, H Rousseau, K Barange, J Peron, M Pierragi, J Rumeau, J Pascal, J Vinel, F Joffre – 30 December 2003 – This prospective study was undertaken in 17 patients treated with 22 transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) procedures and aimed to evaluate the nature and causes of short‐ and long‐term shunt abnormalities. Specimens were collected after autopsy in 6 patients and after liver transplantation in 11 patients; the time from shunting ranging from 4 to 385 days.

Hugo R. Rosen – 30 December 2003 – Key points

James F. Trotter – 30 December 2003 – Key points

Thomas Becker, Miguel Nyibata, Rainer Lueck, Hueseyin Bektas, Gülçin Demirci, Frank Lehner, Günter Tusch, Christian Strassburg, Anke Schwarz, Juergen Klempnauer, Bjoern Nashan – 30 December 2003 – Experience with combined liver‐kidney transplantation (L‐KTx) has increased, but controversy regarding this procedure continues because the indications are not clearly defined yet. Between 1984 and 2000, 38 patients underwent simultaneous L‐KTx and 9 patients underwent sequential transplantation, receiving either a liver before a kidney or a kidney before a liver.

Kymberly D.S. Watt, Elizabeth R. Lyden, Timothy M. McCashland – 30 December 2003 – Data from 1990 to 1996 suggest that the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in repeated orthotopic liver transplantation (re‐OLT) is increasing, and patient survival may be worse. Aims of the study are to: (1) assess the prevalence of HCV in re‐OLT, (2) compare survival between primary OLT and re‐OLT for HCV versus non‐HCV diseases, and (3) evaluate Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores in re‐OLT.

Roberto Troisi, Bernard de Hemptinne – 30 December 2003 – Size mismatching is a major concern in adult living donor liver transplantation (ALDLT). Graft hyperperfusion in these grafts is considered the main factor leading to graft dysfunction and poor survival. We describe the clinical significance of graft inflow modification (GIM) by splenic artery ligation in a series of 24 consecutive ALDLT. Between September 1999 and December 2001, 24 patients underwent ALDLT at our institution. Patients were divided into two groups: G1, n = 11 without GIM, and G2, n = 13 with GIM.