Viral clearance in hepatitis C (1b) infection: Relationship with human leukocyte antigen class II in a homogeneous population

Liam J. Fanning, John Levis, Elizabeth Kenny‐Walsh, Freda Wynne, Michael Whelton, Fergus Shanahan – 30 December 2003 – The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of a significant relationship between human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II and the clearance of hepatitis C virus (HCV). The study group consisted of 156 Irish women who iatrogenically received HCV 1b–contaminated Anti‐D immunoglobulin between May 1977 and November 1978. Thus, the study population was homogeneous in terms of gender, source of infection, and ethnicity.

Increased hepatic iron and cirrhosis: No evidence for an adverse effect on patient outcome following liver transplantation

Katherine A. Stuart, Linda M. Fletcher, Andrew D. Clouston, Steve V. Lynch, David M. Purdie, Paul Kerlin, Darrell H. G. Crawford – 30 December 2003 – It has been suggested that preexisting severe hepatic iron overload may adversely affect outcome after liver transplantation. The pathogenesis of iron overload in cirrhosis in the absence of hemochromatosis gene (HFE) mutations is poorly understood.

High prevalence of the very rare wilson disease gene mutation Leu708Pro in the Island of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain): A genetic and clinical study

Luis García‐Villarreal, Susan Daniels, Sarah H. Shaw, David Cotton, Margaret Galvin, Jeanne Geskes, Paula Bauer, Angel Sierra‐Hernández, Alan Buckler, Antonio Tugores – 30 December 2003 – The molecular basis of Wilson disease (WD), an autosomal recessive disorder, is the presence of mutations in the ATP7B gene, a copper transporting ATPase.

No significant correlation exists between core promoter mutations, viral replication, and liver damage in chronic hepatitis B infection

Yoon Keun Chun, Jee Youn Kim, Hong Jung Woo, Soo Myung Oh, Insug Kang, Joohun Ha, Sung Soo Kim – 30 December 2003 – Hepatitis B virus (HBV) core promoter mutants have been proposed to contribute to severe liver damage by increasing viral loads, but this has not yet been clearly shown. To examine the effects of core promoter mutants on viral load and liver damage, we first developed a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)‐based semiquantitative HBV DNA detection method with a high sensitivity (able to detect as low as 103 molecules/mL).

p73 Is up‐regulated in a subset of hepatocellular carcinomas

Nirmitha I. Herath, Michael C. Kew, Vicki L. Whitehall, Michael D. Walsh, Jeremy R. Jass, Kum Kum Khanna, Joanne Young, Lawrie W. Powell, Barbara A. Leggett, Graeme A. Macdonald – 30 December 2003 – Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at 1p36 occurs in a number of solid tumors including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Recently, a novel gene, p73, has been identified at 1p36.33. p73 is structurally and functionally related to p53 located at 17p13.1, which is a target for inactivation in HCCs.

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