Paul Angulo, Tushar Patel, Roberta A. Jorgensen, Terry M. Therneau, Keith D. Lindor – 30 December 2003 – Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is a safe and effective medical therapy for most patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), but some patients show an incomplete response. Silymarin is a potent antioxidant with immunomodulatory and antifibrotic properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and assess the efficacy of silymarin in patients with PBC who had shown a suboptimal response to UDCA.

Douglas D. Richman – 30 December 2003

Asma Poonawala, Satheesh P. Nair, Paul J. Thuluvath – 30 December 2003 – It has recently been suggested that nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is an under‐recognized cause of cryptogenic cirrhosis (CC) on the basis of higher prevalence of obesity and type II diabetes among these patients. To test this hypothesis, we studied 65 consecutive patients with advanced cirrhosis (Child‐Pugh Score ≥ 7) of undetermined etiology (CC) from our active waiting list for liver transplantation in January 1993, 1996, and 1999.

Àngels Escorsell, Luis Ruiz Del Arbol, Ramon Planas, Agustín Albillos, Rafael Bañares, Paul Calès, Dominique Pateron, Brigitte Bernard, Jean‐Pierre Vinel, Jaume Bosch – 30 December 2003 – Failure to control bleeding and early rebleeding account for the high mortality associated with variceal hemorrhage in cirrhosis. We compared endoscopic sclerotherapy to terlipressin, a drug that effectively controls acute bleeding while reducing in‐hospital mortality.

Cécile Crosnier, Tania Attié‐Bitach, Férechté Encha‐Razavi, Sophie Audollent, Fardouss Soudy, Michelle Hadchouel, Michèle Meunier‐Rotival, Michel Vekemans – 30 December 2003 – Mutations of the JAGGED1 gene, encoding a NOTCH receptor ligand, cause Alagille syndrome (AGS), a complex malformative disorder affecting mainly the liver, heart, vertebrae, eye, and face. Minor and occasional features involving kidney, pharynx, systemic arteries, skeleton, and ear are in some cases associated with the syndrome.

Hisashi Doyama, Toshihide Okada, Tomomi Kobayashi, Ayako Suzuki, Yasuo Takeda, Hiroshi Mabuchi – 30 December 2003 – TATA box abnormality in the promoter region of the bilirubin UDP glucuronosyltransferase 1 gene has been reported to cause Gilbert's syndrome in white subjects. It has also been reported that the majority of Japanese patients with Gilbert's syndrome are heterozygous for Gly71Arg in the coding region of this gene. On the other hand, some patients with chronic hepatitis often show signs of unexpected hyperbilirubinemia.

Monica Failla, Cristina Giannattasio, Alberto Piperno, Anna Vergani, Alessandra Grappiolo, Gaetano Gentile, Ester Meles, Giuseppe Mancia – 30 December 2003 – Iron overload is believed to have an adverse influence on the cardiovascular system and animal studies have shown that iron may be involved in the events that lead to atherosclerosis via an enhancement of smooth muscle cell proliferation, lipid oxidation, and free radical production. There are no data on the effect of iron overload on arterial structural and mechanical properties in humans.

Stefano Brillanti, Fabio Levantesi, Livia Masi, Mauro Foli, Luigi Bolondi – 30 December 2003 – The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of triple antiviral therapy with interferon, ribavirin, and amantadine in comparison with interferon and ribavirin combination treatment in patients with interferon‐nonresponsive chronic hepatitis C. We performed an open‐label, prospective randomized controlled trial at a secondary referral center.

Paul C. Adams, Ann E. Kertesz, Christine E. McLaren, Robert Barr, Anthony Bamford, Subrata Chakrabarti – 30 December 2003 – Early diagnosis and treatment of hemochromatosis is essential to prevent organ damage. Screening strategies to detect early hemochromatosis include testing for iron overload and/or genetic testing. Voluntary blood donors numbering 5,211 were screened with unbound iron‐binding capacity (UIBC), transferrin saturation (TS), and genetic testing for the C282Y mutation of the HFE gene.

I. Nicholas Crispe – 30 December 2003