Marina Berenguer, Victoria Aguilera, Martin Prieto, Domingo Carrasco, Miguel Rayón, Fernando San Juan, Carmen Landaverde, José Mir, Joaquín Berenguer – 30 December 2003 – Although histological hepatitis occurs in the majority of hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐infected liver transplant recipients, the natural history is highly variable. Whereas progression to cirrhosis occurs in up to 30% after 3 to 7 years, the disease remains stable in another third of patients, in whom protocol liver biopsies might be avoided.

Xupeng Ge, Bo‐Göran Ericzon, Grzegorz Nowak, Henrik Öhrström, Ulrika Broomé, Suchitra Sumitran‐Holgersson – 30 December 2003 – During acute liver allograft rejection, most of the tissue damage to bile duct epithelium is thought to occur as a consequence of direct immunologic injury by T‐cell‐mediated immune effector mechanisms. However, the role of antibodies to biliary epithelial cells (BECs) in liver transplant rejection is not known.

Luigi Accatino, Margarita Pizarro, Nancy Solís, Marco Arrese, Cecilia S. Koenig – 30 December 2003 – Hepatic ischemia‐reperfusion (I‐R) injury frequently is associated with cholestasis. However, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. The aim of the study is to assess bile secretory function in vivo in rats subjected to warm lobar hepatic ischemia at different times during reperfusion. A model of lobar 70% warm hepatic ischemia for 30 minutes was used with studies conducted at 1 and 6 hours and 1, 3, and 7 days after reperfusion.

Marv Berkowitz – 30 December 2003

Nils R. Frühauf, Susanne Koeppen, Fuat H. Saner, Thomas Egelhof, Gregor Stavrou, Silvio Nadalin, Christoph E. Broelsch – 30 December 2003 – Neurotoxicity is a well‐known side effect of tacrolimus‐based immunosuppression after liver transplantation. Until now, only 31 cases of immunosuppression‐associated leukoencephalopathy in liver transplant recipients reported in the literature are related to tacrolimus therapy. We report a patient who developed a posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome, secondary to tacrolimus‐based immunosuppression, after living donor liver transplantation.

Mira Johri, Peter A. Ubel – 30 December 2003 – Objective: To investigate the nature of public preferences in the allocation of donor liver grafts for transplantation. Design: A qualitative study based upon the transcripts of four focus groups. Setting: Derby, Derbyshire, UK. Participants: Twenty‐two members of the public in the Derby locality, recruited to one of four focus groups through local community groups.

Mary E. Rinella, Richard McCarthy, Kiran Thakrar, John Paul Finn, Sambasiva M. Rao, Alan J. Koffron, Michael Abecassis, Andres T. Blei – 30 December 2003 – In living liver donation, a fatty liver poses risks for both recipient and donor. Currently, liver biopsy is the standard for assessing the presence and extent of steatosis. The goals of this study were to correlate a steatosis index derived from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to the histologic grade on biopsy as well as to determine the topographic distribution of steatosis within the liver.

Ronan E. O'Carroll, Margaret Couston, Jill Cossar, George Masterton, Peter Clive Hayes – 30 December 2003 – Liver transplantation is a well‐established treatment for liver failure. Prolongation in survival is accepted, but long‐term effects of liver transplantation on cognitive and psychological outcome are unclear. In the present study, psychological data were prospectively collected for 164 patients who were assessed for liver transplantation. Memory impairment, psychomotor slowing, anxiety, and depression were commonly observed.

Gokhan Icoz, Murat Kilic, Murat Zeytunlu, Arzu Celebi, Galip Ersoz, Refik Killi, Ahmet Memis, Zeki Karasu, Yildiray Yuzer, Yaman Tokat – 30 December 2003 – Biliary complications appear to be the leading cause of postoperative complications after living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). The aim of this study is to analyze the complications, treatment modalities, and outcomes of biliary anastomoses in a series of 50 consecutive right‐lobe LDLTs. Median patient age was 45 years, and median right‐lobe graft volume was 740 g. Graft‐recipient weight ratio was 0.69 to 1.80.

Guy W. Neff, Marzia Montalbano, Gabriel Slapak‐Green, Thierry Berney, Pablo A. Bejarano, Anand Joshi, Mike Icardi, Jose Nery, Nishida Seigo, David Levi, Debbie Weppler, Peter Pappas, Jose Ruiz, Eugene R. Schiff, Andreas G. Tzakis – 30 December 2003 – Treatment options are limited for orthotopic liver transplant (OLT) recipients suffering from chronic rejection (CR). We performed a retrospective review of OLT recipients diagnosed with CR and treated with sirolimus.