Veit Gülberg, Klaus Haag, Martin Rössle, Alexander L. Gerbes – 30 December 2003 – Hepatic arterial buffer response (HABR) is considered an important compensatory mechanism to maintain perfusion of the liver by hepatic arterial vasodilation on reduction of portal venous perfusion. HABR has been suggested to be impaired in patients with advanced cirrhosis. In patients with hepatopetal portal flow, placement of a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) reduces portal venous liver perfusion.

David Bernstein, Leah Kleinman, Chris M. Barker, Dennis A. Revicki, Jesse Green – 30 December 2003 – Interferon therapy may exacerbate health‐related quality of life (HRQL) deficits associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) early in the course of therapy. Treatment with polyethylene glycol–modified interferon (peginterferon) alfa‐2a (40 kd) provides improved sustained response over interferon alfa‐2a, but its effect on HRQL is unknown.

Igor Dvorchik, Michael Subotin, A. Jake Demetris, John J. Fung, Thomas E. Starzl, Samuel Wieand, Kareem M. Abu‐Elmagd – 30 December 2003 – This report investigates the influence of liver transplantation and concomitant immunosuppression on the course of progression of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and discusses statistical methodology appropriate for such settings.

Shuji Matsumura, Judy Van De Water, Hiroto Kita, Ross L. Coppel, Takao Tsuji, Kazuhide Yamamoto, Aftab A. Ansari, M. Eric Gershwin – 30 December 2003 – Patients with PBC produce a directed, specific response to a single immunodominant autoepitope of PDC‐E2 within the inner lipoyl domain. In contrast, immunized animals react to multiple epitopes and rarely recognize the inner lipoyl domain. In other autoimmune diseases, apoptosis plays a critical role in antigen presentation; the caspases and granzyme B are the key proteases in the generation of autoepitopes.

Masayoshi Ijichi, Tadatoshi Takayama, Masayuki Matsumura, Yasushi Shiratori, Masao Omata, Masatoshi Makuuchi – 30 December 2003 – α‐fetoprotein (AFP) messenger RNA (mRNA) has been proposed as a marker of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells disseminated into the circulation, but its clinical significance remains controversial. We prospectively assessed the prognostic value of AFP mRNA in patients undergoing curative hepatic resection for HCC.

Barbara McGovern, Ioana Bica – 30 December 2003

Kirsten Muri Boberg, Giuseppe Rocca, Thore Egeland, Annika Bergquist, Ulrika Broomé, Llorenc Caballeria, Roger Chapman, Rolf Hultcrantz, Stephen Mitchell, Albert Pares, Floriano Rosina, Erik Schrumpf – 30 December 2003 – More precise prognostic models are needed for prediction of survival in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), particularly for the selection of candidates for liver transplantation. The aim of this study was to develop a time‐dependent prognostic model for the calculation of updated short‐term survival probability in PSC.

Geoffrey C. Farrell, Graham R. Robertson, Isabelle Leclercq, Yves Horsmans – 30 December 2003

Ugochukwu C. Nzeako, Maria Eugenia Guicciardi, Jung‐Hwan Yoon, Steven F. Bronk, Gregory J. Gores – 30 December 2003 – Fas expression has been shown to negatively regulate the progression of cholangiocarcinoma cells in xenografts. However, many human cholangiocarcinomas express Fas, suggesting these cancers have developed mechanisms to inhibit Fas‐mediated apoptosis. Cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2), which generates prostanoids, is expressed by many cholangiocarcinomas.

Ton Lisman, Frank W.G. Leebeek, Karina Meijer, Jan Van Der Meer, H. Karel Nieuwenhuis, Philip G. De Groot – 30 December 2003 – Cirrhosis is associated with a bleeding tendency, which is particularly pronounced during orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). A novel approach to treating the bleeding diathesis of patients with cirrhosis is administration of recombinant factor VIIa (rFVIIa). This study examined whether the efficacy of rFVIIa in cirrhosis might be explained in part by enhanced down‐regulation of fibrinolysis by thrombin‐activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI).