Paul Angulo, Roberta A. Jorgensen, Jill C. Keach, E. Rolland Dickson, Coleman Smith, Keith D. Lindor – 30 December 2003 – Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is a safe and effective medical therapy for most patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). However, some patients show an incomplete response to UDCA therapy. Treatment with corticosteroids may be of benefit although at the expense of systemic side effects. Budesonide, a corticosteroid with an extensive first‐pass hepatic metabolism appeared promising for the treatment of PBC.

Ananya Das – 30 December 2003 – Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in liver transplant recipients and several different strategies of CMV chemoprophylaxis are in practice. A cost‐effective analysis was performed to compare these strategies. A hypothetical cohort of liver transplant recipients was followed up for a year posttransplantation in a Markov model, as they made possible transitions to different states of health with respect to CMV infection and disease. Different strategies of chemoprophylaxis were compared.

Constance E. Ruhl, James E. Everhart – 30 December 2003 – An inconsistent association has been found between gallbladder disease and diabetes mellitus. We hypothesized that insulin resistance rather than diabetes status may be a primary factor involved in gallstone formation. A total of 5,653 adult participants in the third United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey without known diabetes underwent gallbladder ultrasonography and phlebotomy after an overnight fast for measurement of serum insulin, C‐peptide, and glucose.

Vinicio Carloni, Massimo Pinzani, Sabrina Giusti, Roberto G. Romanelli, Maurizio Parola, Giorgio Bellomo, Paola Failli, Andrew D. Hamilton, Said M. Sebti, Giacomo Laffi, Paolo Gentilini – 30 December 2003 – Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a widely expressed nonreceptor tyrosine kinase found in focal adhesions. FAK has been indicated as a point of convergence of other signaling pathways including platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF) receptors, and recently, FAK tyrosine phosphorylation has been shown to be stimulated by PDGF.

Àngels Escorsell, Concepció Bru, Rosa Gilabert, Eduardo Moitinho, Juan Carlos García‐Pagán, Jaume Bosch – 30 December 2003 – Wedged hepatic venous pressure (WHVP) is equivalent to portal venous pressure in patients with alcoholic liver diseases. However, it may underestimate portal pressure in nonalcoholics, which is important because hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a frequent cause of chronic liver disease. We investigated the agreement between directly measured portal pressure and WHVP in alcoholic and HCV–related liver diseases.

Luigi Elio Adinolfi, Riccardo Utili, Giuseppe Ruggiero – 30 December 2003

Afonso Ribeiro, Steven F. Bronk, Patricia J. Roberts, Raul Urrutia, Gregory J. Gores – 30 December 2003 – Transforming growth factor β1(TGF‐β1)–inducible transcription factors have recently elicited interest because of their critical role in the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. We have previously reported that the TGF‐β1 –inducible transcription factor, TIEG1, induces apoptosis in a pancreas‐derived cell line. However, the mechanisms underlying the apoptotic effects of this transcription factor remain to be defined.

Paul D. Berk, Henry S. Sacks – 30 December 2003

Surinder S. Yadav, David Sindram, David K. Perry, Pierre‐Alain Clavien – 30 December 2003 – A short period of ischemia and reperfusion, called ischemic preconditioning, protects various tissues against subsequent sustained ischemic insults. We previously showed that apoptosis of hepatocytes and sinusoidal endothelial cells is a critical mechanism of injury in the ischemic liver.

Detlef Schuppan, Ji‐Dong Jia, Benno Brinkhaus, Eckhart G. Hahn – 30 December 2003