Barbara Cavalieri, Maria‐Giulia Perrelli, Manuela Aragno, Raffaella Mastrocola, Giovanna Corvetti, Marilena Durazzo, Giuseppe Poli, Juan C. Cutrìn – 30 December 2003 – In an in vivo rat model of liver ischemia followed by reperfusion a consistent appearance of necrosis and activation of biochemical pathways of apoptosis was reproduced and monitored after 30 minutes reperfusion. Preconditioning by application of a short cycle of ischemia‐reperfusion (10 minutes + 10 minutes) positively conditioned recovery of the organ at reperfusion, attenuating both necrotic and apoptotic events.

Jesús Fortún, Pilar Martín‐Dávila, Santiago Moreno, Emilio de Vicente, Javier Nuño, Angel Candelas, Rafael Bárcena, Miguel García – 30 December 2003 – Aspergillosis is a potential, severe, and usually early complication of liver transplantation. New promising strategies, such as detecting Aspergillus antigenemia, have been used for the diagnosis of aspergillosis in immunosuppressed patients, but the impact in solid organ transplantation is not well known. A case‐control study in 260 adults who underwent liver transplantation from January 1994 to June 2000 was performed.

Gianni Biancofiore, Lucia Bindi, Anna Maria Romanelli, Massimo Bisà, Antonella Boldrini, Giovanni Consani, Augusta Danella, Lucio Urbani, Franco Filipponi, Franco Mosca – 30 December 2003 – There is growing interest in measuring intra‐abdominal pressure (IAP) in postsurgical and critically ill patients because increased pressure can impair various organs and functions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different IAP levels on the postoperative renal function of subjects undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation.

Kyung‐Suk Suh, Sang Beom Kim, Seong‐Hwan Chang, Seong Hoon Kim, Kyung Won Minn, Myoung Hee Park, Kyou Sup Han, Kuhn Uk Lee – 30 December 2003 – A positive cross‐match in cadaveric liver transplantation is relatively acceptable, but its role in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is less well known. The aim of this study is to examine the significance of cytotoxic cross‐match in adult‐to‐adult LDLT using small‐for‐size grafts. Forty‐three adult‐to‐adult LDLTs were performed at Seoul National University Hospital (Seoul, Korea) from January 1999 to July 2001.

Scott L. Nyberg, Toshikazu Yagi, Takakazu Matsushita, Joseph Hardin, Joseph P. Grande, Lawrence E. Gibson, Jeffrey L. Platt – 30 December 2003 – Pores in the membrane of a bioartificial liver (BAL) allow it to function as a semipermeable barrier between its contents (i.e., liver cells) and components of the recipient's immune system. This study is designed to assess the influence of pore size on immune response to a BAL containing porcine hepatocytes.

Maria Rosa Moya‐Quiles, Manuel Muro, Alberto Torío, Francisco Sánchez‐Bueno, Manuel Miras, Luis Marín, Ana Maria García‐Alonso, Pascual Parrilla, Jean Dausset, María Rocío Álvarez‐López – 30 December 2003 – In liver transplantion, rejection is still an important problem, and the role of human leukocyte antigens (HLA) has not been clearly established. At present, the possible involvement of HLA‐C antigen in liver transplantation is still unexplored. The aim of this work was to analyze the influence of HLA‐C polymorphism on the outcome of liver transplantation.

Jean‐Marc Bigourdan, Daniel Jaeck, Nicolas Meyer, Carole Meyer, Elie Oussoultzoglou, Philippe Bachellier, Jean‐Christophe Weber, Maxime Audet, Michel Doffoël, Philippe Wolf – 30 December 2003 – Hepatic resection (HR) is the treatment of choice for small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in a noncirrhotic liver, whereas liver transplantation (LT) offers better results in patients with impaired hepatic function (Child B and C). However, it is still debated whether HR or LT is the best strategy for patients with Child A cirrhosis.

Brian I. Carr, J. Wallis Marsh, David A. Geller – 30 December 2003

Eelco F.M. Wijdicks, Russell H. Wiesner – 30 December 2003 – Portal systemic encephalopathy, in its many guises, can be reversible after medical management or liver transplantation. It is much less certain whether patients with a longstanding neurodegenerative syndrome (known in the medical vernacular as acquired hepatocerebral degeneration) can improve.

Susumu Eguchi, Katsuhiko Yanaga, Nozomu Sugiyama, Sadayuki Okudaira, Junichiro Furui, Takashi Kanematsu – 30 December 2003 – The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between portal venous (PV) velocity and degree of liver regeneration in humans after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). Between July 1997 and September 2002, a total of 15 adult‐to‐adult LDLTs with right‐lobe grafts were performed, and 13 of these patients were enrolled in this study.