Stephen A. Villano, David Vlahov, Kenrad E. Nelson, Sylvia Cohn, David L. Thomas – 30 December 2003 – The purpose of this investigation was to prospectively characterize acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections and to evaluate the hypothesis that the outcome is affected by identifiable clinical or viral factors. One hundred forty‐two people with a history of illicit drug use who were HCV antibody–negative in 1988 were followed semiannually through 1996.

Claudia Schleger, Roger Becker, Franz Oesch, Pablo Steinberg – 30 December 2003 – A particular point mutation of the tumor suppressor gene p53, namely a G→T transversion at the third base of codon 249, is frequently detected in primary hepatocellular carcinomas from patients living in areas where the levels of dietary exposure to aflatoxin B1 and the rates of infection with the hepatitis B virus are very high.

Paul Angulo, Kenneth P. Batts, Terry M. Therneau, Roberta A. Jorgensen, E. Rolland Dickson, Keith D. Lindor – 30 December 2003 – Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a progressive cholestatic liver disease frequently leading to development of cirrhosis and its complications. Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is a beneficial medical therapy for patients with PBC. Improvement in some histological features, but not in histological stage, has been reported after 2 years of UDCA therapy.

Stephanos Hadziyannis, Basil Karamanos – 30 December 2003

Hartmut Jaeschke, Ye‐Shih Ho, Michael A. Fisher, Judy A. Lawson, Anwar Farhood – 30 December 2003 – Neutrophils contribute to hepatocellular injury in a number of acuteinflammatory reactions. However, the molecular mechanism of parenchymal cell injury remains controversial. To address the issue of whether or not reactive oxygen species (ROS) are important in the injury process, we used the galactosamine/endotoxin (Gal/ET) model of acute liver failure, which involves a neutrophil‐mediated parenchymal cell injury.

Donatella Barisani, Gaetano Cairo, Enrico Ginelli, Anna Marozzi, Dario Conte – 30 December 2003 – Nitric oxide (NO) donors S‐nitroso‐N‐acetylpenicillamine (SNAP) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) modulate iron regulatory protein (IRP) activity and may, therefore, affect iron uptake through transferrin receptor expression. However, iron also enters the cell as nontransferrin‐bound iron (NTBI), and the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of NO donors on NTBI transport in HepG2 cells, a model of liver physiology.

Violina Lozeva, Antti Valjakka, Eeva Anttila, Ewen MacDonald, Mikko Hippeläinen, Leena Tuomisto – 30 December 2003 – To determine whether the increased histamine levels in the brain of rats with portacaval anastomosis (PCA) are associated with the development of sleep disturbances during the light phase, the neocortical slow‐wave activity of PCA‐operated rats was examined with electroencephalography (EEG) 1 month and 6 months after the surgery.

Ran Oren, Mariana D. Dabeva, Petko M. Petkov, Ethel Hurston, Ezio Laconi, David A. Shafritz – 30 December 2003 – Recently, we described a new strategy for hepatocyte transplantation, using retrorsine/partial hepatectomy (PH) in a DPPIV− mutant Fischer rat model. Treatment of rats with retrorsine, a pyrrolizidine alkaloid, blocks endogenous hepatocytes from proliferating, so that after exposure to this agent coupled with PH and hepatocyte transplantation, transplanted hepatocytes selectively repopulate the liver.

Marcello Piazza – 30 December 2003

Scott Kellerman, Miriam J. Alter – 30 December 2003