T Grøfte, T Wolthers, S A Jensen, N Møller, J O Jørgensen, N Tygstrup, H Ørskov, H Vilstrup – 30 December 2003 – Improvement of nitrogen balance is desirable in patients with acute or chronic illness. Both growth hormone (GH) and insulin‐like growth factor‐I (IGF‐I) are promising anabolic agents, and their combined administration has been shown to reverse catabolism more efficiently than each of the peptides alone.

T Kawamura, A Furusaka, M J Koziel, R T Chung, T C Wang, E V Schmidt, T J Liang – 30 December 2003 – Although hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, the role of viral cytopathic effects remains unclear. To study the biosynthesis of HCV structural proteins and their pathogenic role, we constructed transgenic mice, expressing type 1b HCV structural proteins (core, E1, and E2) in liver tissues. Two liver‐specific promoters were used.

A Penna, G Del Prete, A Cavalli, A Bertoletti, M M D'Elios, R Sorrentino, M D'Amato, C Boni, M Pilli, F Fiaccadori, C Ferrari – 30 December 2003 – The cytokine pattern secreted by T cells on viral antigen recognition is believed to exert a profound influence on both the type of disease caused by the infecting agent and the final outcome of the viral infection.

M C Kew – 30 December 2003

30 December 2003

A Tagger, F Donato, M L Ribero, R Chiesa, V Tomasoni, G Portera, U Gelatti, A Albertini, M Fasola, G Nardi – 30 December 2003 – A new hepatitis‐associated RNA virus of the Flaviviridae family has been identified and named GB virus C/ hepatitis G virus (HGV). We carried out a case‐control study to evaluate the association of HGV infection with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We recruited 170 patients hospitalized for HCC (143 male and 27 female, mean age 64 years) and 306 patients hospitalized for nonliver diseases (controls) in Brescia, Italy.

P C Adams – 30 December 2003

M J Alter – 30 December 2003 – In the United States, the annual number of newly acquired acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections has declined from an estimated 180,000 in the mid 1980s to an estimated 28,000 in 1995. Approximately 25% to 30% of these infections are clinically apparent cases that are sufficiently symptomatic to gain medical attention. Deaths from fulminant hepatitis C are rare.

J E Everhart, M Stolar, J H Hoofnagle – 30 December 2003 – A survey on the management of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection was conducted by the American Digestive Health Foundation among United States physicians who are most familiar with the disease. The two‐page survey was completed by 57% of a random sample of 2,500 members of the American Gastroenterological Association and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. Analysis was limited to the 1,249 responses from physicians who spent at least 1 day per week in patient care.

W M Lee – 30 December 2003 – Interferon alfa‐2a resembles other recombinant α interferons in structure and pharmacology. Studies delineating its efficacy suggest that after 6 to 12 months of therapy, sustained biochemical responses occur in 4% to 49% of patients, providing adequate doses (> or = 3 million units three times weekly) are used. Overall, a dose‐response curve is evident in regard to biochemical responses, decrease in histological scores for inflammation, and virological responses (percent negative serum hepatitis C virus [HCV] RNA) after treatment.