Frédéric Moal, Daniel Chappard, Jianhua Wang, Eric Vuillemin, Sophie Michalak‐Provost, Marie Christine Rousselet, Frédéric Oberti, Paul Calès – 30 December 2003 – Fractal analysis measures the complexity of geometric structures. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of fractal analysis in liver fibrosis. A total of 77 rats were included: 10 sham, 46 with fibrosis secondary to bile duct ligation (BDL), and 21 with fibrosis due to CCl4 intoxication.

Kerstin Koerber, Gabriele Sass, Alexandra K. Kiemer, Angelika M. Vollmar, Gisa Tiegs – 30 December 2003 – Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) has been shown to play an important role in the development of liver injury. iNOS deficiency protects mice from hemorrhage/resuscitation as well as from cytokine‐mediated liver injury, for example, after administration of concanavalin A (con A).

Shuji Matsumura, Hiroto Kita, Xiao‐Song He, Aftab A. Ansari, Zhe‐Xiong Lian, Judy van de Water, Kazuhide Yamamoto, Takao Tsuji, Ross L. Coppel, Marshall Kaplan, M. Eric Gershwin – 30 December 2003 – Growing evidence has implicated the involvement of autoreactive T lymphocytes in the pathogenesis of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC).

A. Obaid Shakil, Brendon McGuire, Jeff Crippin, Lewis Teperman, A. Jake Demetris, Hari Conjeevaram, Robert Gish, Paul Kwo, Vijayan Balan, Teresa L. Wright, Clifford Brass, Jorge Rakela – 30 December 2003 – Although interferon alfa (IFN‐α) and ribavirin are widely used in the treatment of hepatitis C, their role in the transplant recipient is unclear. We conducted a pilot study to determine the efficacy and safety of this therapy in transplant recipients with recurrent hepatitis C.

Alejandro Soza, James E. Everhart, Marc G. Ghany, Edward Doo, Theo Heller, Kittichai Promrat, Yoon Park, T. Jake Liang, Jay H. Hoofnagle – 30 December 2003 – Interferon therapy of hepatitis C causes a decrease in neutrophil counts, and neutropenia is a common reason for dose adjustment or early discontinuation. However, it is unclear whether neutropenia caused by interferon is associated with an increased rate of infection. In this study, we assessed factors associated and clinical consequences of neutropenia before and during interferon therapy of chronic hepatitis C.

Evangelista Sagnelli, Nicola Coppola, Vincenzo Messina, Domenico di Caprio, Cecilia Marrocco, Anna Marotta, Mirella Onofrio, Carlo Scolastico, Pietro Filippini – 30 December 2003 – We enrolled 44 patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) acute infection, 21 anti‐hepatitis C virus (HCV)–positive for at least 1 year (case BC group), 20 anti‐HCV–negative (control B group), and 3 with HBV/HCV acute concurrent infection. For each case BC, a subject with chronic HCV infection alone was selected (control C group).

Hashem B. El‐Serag – 30 December 2003 – Chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major risk factor for development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In general, HCC develops only after 2 or more decades of HCV infection and the increased risk is restricted largely to patients with cirrhosis or advanced fibrosis. Factors that predispose to HCC among HCV‐infected persons include male sex, older age, hepatitis B virus (HBV) coinfection, heavy alcohol intake, and possibly diabetes and a transfusion‐related source of HCV infection. Viral factors play a minor role.

Miguel R. Arguedas, Gary A. Abrams, Michael J. Krowka, Michael B. Fallon – 30 December 2003 – The hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) occurs in a subgroup of patients with cirrhosis and results from intrapulmonary vasodilatation, which may cause significant hypoxemia. Liver transplantation has emerged as a therapeutic option for patients with HPS based on retrospective case series and reports. However, morbidity and mortality appear to be increased after transplantation for HPS, and no prospective studies evaluating clinical features that may predict poor surgical outcome are available.

Elias Kouroumalis, Demetrios Samonakis, Panagiotis Skordilis – 30 December 2003

Davide Trerè, Mauro Borzio, Alberto Morabito, Franco Borzio, Massimo Roncalli, Massimo Derenzini – 30 December 2003 – Patients with cirrhosis are at significant risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between the percentage of hepatocytes showing nucleolar hypertrophy and the development of HCC in cirrhosis of different causes. A total of 111 cirrhotic patients were studied, with a mean follow‐up period of 83.3 months.