Carlos Hermenegildo, Pilar Monfort, Vicente Felipo – 30 December 2003 – Ammonia is considered the main agent responsible for the neurological alterations in hepatic encephalopathy. It was suggested that ammonia toxicity is mediated by activation of N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) receptors. The aim of this work was to assess, by in vivo brain microdialysis in freely moving rats, whether acute ammonia intoxication leads to activation of NMDA receptors in the cerebellum of the rat in vivo.

Dar‐In Tai, Sun‐Lung Tsai, Young‐Mao Chen, Yen‐Ling Chuang, Cheng‐Yuan Peng, I‐Shyan Sheen, Chau‐Ting Yeh, Kenneth S. Chang, Shao‐Nan Huang, George C. Kuo, Yun‐Fan Liaw – 30 December 2003 – The hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein is a multifunctional protein. It may bind to the death domain of tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (TNFR1) and to the cytoplasmic tail of lymphotoxin‐β receptor, implying that it may be involved in the apoptosis and anti‐apoptosis signaling pathways. In vitro studies have been inconclusive regarding its ability to inhibit or enhance TNF‐α–induced apoptosis.

Stanislas Pol, Marie‐Louise Michel, Christian Bréchot – 30 December 2003

Nobuyuki Ito, Sumio Kawata, Shinji Tamura, Hiromu Nakajima, Shinichi Kiso, Ayuko Saeki, Takanori Oue, Toshiaki Hanafusa, Yuji Matsuzawa – 30 December 2003

Paul Angulo, Roberta A. Jorgensen, Jill C. Keach, E. Rolland Dickson, Coleman Smith, Keith D. Lindor – 30 December 2003 – Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is a safe and effective medical therapy for most patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). However, some patients show an incomplete response to UDCA therapy. Treatment with corticosteroids may be of benefit although at the expense of systemic side effects. Budesonide, a corticosteroid with an extensive first‐pass hepatic metabolism appeared promising for the treatment of PBC.

Ananya Das – 30 December 2003 – Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in liver transplant recipients and several different strategies of CMV chemoprophylaxis are in practice. A cost‐effective analysis was performed to compare these strategies. A hypothetical cohort of liver transplant recipients was followed up for a year posttransplantation in a Markov model, as they made possible transitions to different states of health with respect to CMV infection and disease. Different strategies of chemoprophylaxis were compared.

Constance E. Ruhl, James E. Everhart – 30 December 2003 – An inconsistent association has been found between gallbladder disease and diabetes mellitus. We hypothesized that insulin resistance rather than diabetes status may be a primary factor involved in gallstone formation. A total of 5,653 adult participants in the third United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey without known diabetes underwent gallbladder ultrasonography and phlebotomy after an overnight fast for measurement of serum insulin, C‐peptide, and glucose.

Vinicio Carloni, Massimo Pinzani, Sabrina Giusti, Roberto G. Romanelli, Maurizio Parola, Giorgio Bellomo, Paola Failli, Andrew D. Hamilton, Said M. Sebti, Giacomo Laffi, Paolo Gentilini – 30 December 2003 – Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a widely expressed nonreceptor tyrosine kinase found in focal adhesions. FAK has been indicated as a point of convergence of other signaling pathways including platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF) receptors, and recently, FAK tyrosine phosphorylation has been shown to be stimulated by PDGF.

Àngels Escorsell, Concepció Bru, Rosa Gilabert, Eduardo Moitinho, Juan Carlos García‐Pagán, Jaume Bosch – 30 December 2003 – Wedged hepatic venous pressure (WHVP) is equivalent to portal venous pressure in patients with alcoholic liver diseases. However, it may underestimate portal pressure in nonalcoholics, which is important because hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a frequent cause of chronic liver disease. We investigated the agreement between directly measured portal pressure and WHVP in alcoholic and HCV–related liver diseases.

Luigi Elio Adinolfi, Riccardo Utili, Giuseppe Ruggiero – 30 December 2003