Robert M. Weinrieb, Deborah H.A. Van Horn, A. Thomas McLellan, Michael R. Lucey – 30 December 2003 – Few studies have examined the value of treating alcohol addiction either before or after liver transplantation. Nevertheless, most liver transplant programs and many insurance companies require 6 months to 1 year of abstinence from alcohol as a condition of eligibility for liver transplantation (the 6‐month rule). We believe there are potentially harsh clinical consequences to the implementation of this rule.

Peter Neuhaus, Ulf Neumann – 30 December 2003

Henkie P. Tan, Jay S. Markowitz, Warren R. Maley, William T. Merritt, Andrew S. Klein – 30 December 2003 – Budd‐Chiari syndrome (BCS) is a rare form of portal hypertension characterized by hepatic venous outflow obstruction. Although hematologic disorders are the most common cause of this syndrome, to date, 30% of the cases have been classified as idiopathic. Resistance to activated protein C caused by factor V Leiden is the most common cause of thrombophilia; its role in the pathogenesis of BCS is now becoming apparent.

Giuliano Testa, Jeffrey S. Crippin, George J. Netto, Robert M. Goldstein, Linda W. Jennings, Borisa S. Brkic, Barbara K. Brooks, Marlon F. Levy, Thomas A. Gonwa, Goran B. Klintmalm – 30 December 2003 – The time progression of allograft damage in patients with recurrent hepatitis C after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is not precisely determined. The aim of this analysis is to study the progression of disease recurrence and its impact on patient and graft survival.

Richard B. Freeman, Erick B. Edwards – 30 December 2003 – Factors associated with the risk for mortality once placed on the liver transplant waiting list and how this risk relates to center‐specific waiting time and transplant activity have not been adequately evaluated. We performed this study to determine the association between center‐specific waiting time and waiting list mortality among liver transplant candidates stratified by medical urgency at the time of registration.

J. Eileen Hay – 30 December 2003

I. Lautenschlager, K. Höckerstedt, H. Jalanko, R. Loginov, K. Salmela, E. Taskinen, J. Ahonen – 30 December 2003 – Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is one of the suggested risk factors for chronic allograft rejection. Clinical and experimental studies have shown that CMV is somehow implicated in rejection mechanisms and in the generation of graft arteriosclerosis, characteristic of chronic rejection. In liver transplantation, there is also evidence of an association between CMV and vanishing bile duct‐syndrome (VBDS), which is characteristic of chronic liver allograft rejection.

Kenneth A. Somberg – 30 December 2003

A Kwon, S K Ha‐Kawa, S Uetsuji, T Inoue, Y Matsui, Y Kamiyama – 30 December 2003 – Technetium‐99m‐diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acidgalactosyl human serum albumin (Tc‐GSA) is a new liver scintigraphy agent which binds to the asialoglycoprotein receptors. We evaluated the preoperative assessment for hepatectomy using Tc‐GSA liver scintigraphy. Ninety patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were admitted for elective hepatectomy.

A Fabbri, G P Bianchi, G Marchesini – 30 December 2003