P Ott, L Bass, S Keiding – 30 December 2003 – The influence of binding protein concentration and hematocrit on hepatic uptake of indocyanine green (ICG) was studied in anesthetized pigs during constant infusion of ICG. By exchange transfusions, we either substituted plasma protein with dextran 70 (n = 8) or changed hematocrit (n = 8). Intrinsic hepatic clearance of ICG, K, was calculated from plasma flow rate and concentrations in peripheral artery and liver vein after correction for extrahepatic distribution.

M J Tong, K R Reddy, W M Lee, P J Pockros, J C Hoefs, E B Keeffe, F B Hollinger, E J Hathcote, H White, R T Foust, D M Jensen, E L Krawitt, H Fromm, M Black, L M Blatt, M Klein, J Lubina – 30 December 2003 – This multicenter, randomized, controlled, double‐blind, phase III study in 704 patients with chronic hepatitis C infection compared treatment with consensus interferon (CIFN), a non‐natural recombinant type‐1 interferon, with a standard regimen of recombinant interferon alfa‐2b (IFN‐α2b).

V Guadagnino, T Stroffolini, M Rapicetta, A Costantino, L A Kondili, F Menniti‐Ippolito, B Caroleo, C Costa, G Griffo, L Loiacono, V Pisani, A Foca, M Piazza – 30 December 2003 – In 1996 the prevalence, risk factors, and genotype distribution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection were assessed in the general population of a town in southern Italy. The sample was selected from the census by a systematic 1:4 sampling procedure. The participation rate was 96.6%. Among the 1,352 subjects enrolled, 195 (14.4%) tested reactive to antibody to HCV (anti‐HCV) with enzyme immunoassay (EIA 3).

S P Pereira, J O'Donohue, J Wendon, R Williams – 30 December 2003 – Acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP) and the syndrome of hemolysis, elevated liver enzyme levels, and low platelet count (HELLP) are rare but major disorders of the third trimester of pregnancy. Over a 10‐year period, 46 women (median age, 30 years; range, 17‐41 years) developed hepatic dysfunction severe enough to require transfer to our Liver Failure Unit. Three quarters of the women were nulliparous, and 5 had twin pregnancies; the median gestational age was 35 weeks (range, 24‐40 weeks).

A Casini, E Ceni, R Salzano, P Biondi, M Parola, A Galli, M Foschi, A Caligiuri, M Pinzani, C Surrenti – 30 December 2003 – Experimental evidence indicates that the lipid peroxidation of biological membranes is often associated with the development of liver fibrosis. We have studied the effect of neutrophil‐derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) on collagen synthesis by human hepatic stellate cells (HSC), the major source of collagen in the liver, in a coculture system.

G Porto, C Vicente, M A Teixeira, O Martins, J M Cabeda, R Lacerda, C Gonçalves, J Fraga, G Macedo, B M Silva, H Alves, B Justiça, M de Sousa – 30 December 2003 – Hemochromatosis is a hereditary iron‐overload disease linked to HLA. The clinical expression of hemochromatosis is influenced by sex and age. However, other factors must account for the notorious heterogeneity of expression of the disease independent of sex, age, and HLA phenotype.

A Francavilla, N L Vujanovic, L Polimeno, A Azzarone, A Iacobellis, A Deleo, M Hagiya, T L Whiteside, T E Starzl – 30 December 2003 – Fine balanced sequential changes of the levels of circulating hepatotrophic factors are essential for normal liver regeneration. Our recent studies have indicated that liver‐resident natural killer (NK) cells are important regulators of liver regeneration and have raised the possibility that hepatotrophic factors might mediate their activities through NK cells.

C Duvoux, D Cherqui, V Di Martino, J Métreau, A Salvat, J Lauzet, P Fagniez, D Dhumeaux – 30 December 2003 – Arterial hypertension is frequent in liver transplant recipients on cyclosporine A (CsA). Nicardipine is a calcium channel blocker (CCB) that has been shown to be efficient in controlling postoperative hypertension. However, its use has been limited in organ recipients because of its reported interaction with CsA metabolism. In this report, we studied the results of the long‐term use of nicardipine after liver transplantation.

E C Jazwinska, L W Powell – 30 December 2003 – Background/Aims: Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH), which affects some 1 in 400 and has an estimated carrier frequency of 1 in 10 individuals of Northern European descent, results in multi‐organ dysfunction caused by increased iron deposition, and is treatable if detected early. Using linkage‐disequilibrium and full haplotype analysis, we have identified a 250kb region more than 3 megabases telomeric of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) that is identical‐by‐descent in 85% of patient chromosomes.

S Friman, J Svanvik – 30 December 2003