George N. Ioannou, Noel S. Weiss, Edward J. Boyko, Dariush Mozaffarian, Sum P. Lee – 20 April 2006 – In the United States, elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity in the absence of viral hepatitis or excessive alcohol consumption is most commonly attributed to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NAFLD is related to predictors of coronary heart disease (CHD) such as insulin resistance and central obesity. We examined the association between elevated serum ALT activity and the 10‐year risk of CHD as estimated using the Framingham risk score (FRS).

Albert Mennone, Carol J. Soroka, Shi‐Ying Cai, Kathy Harry, Masashi Adachi, Lee Hagey, John D. Schuetz, James L. Boyer – 20 April 2006 – Mrp4 is a member of the multidrug resistance–associated gene family that is expressed on the basolateral membrane of hepatocytes and undergoes adaptive upregulation in response to cholestatic injury or bile acid feeding. However, the relative importance of Mrp4 in a protective adaptive response to cholestatic injury is not known.

Thierry Gustot, Arnaud Lemmers, Christophe Moreno, Nathalie Nagy, Eric Quertinmont, Charles Nicaise, Denis Franchimont, Hubert Louis, Jacques Devière, Olivier Le Moine – 20 April 2006 – Gut‐derived, endotoxin‐mediated hepatocellular damage has been postulated to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of alcohol‐induced liver injury in rodents. Endotoxins induce production of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF‐α) by Kupffer cells via Toll‐like receptor (TLR) 4 and contribute to liver injury. This study addressed the contribution of other TLRs and ligands to alcoholic fatty liver.

Marina Berenguer, Antonio Palau, Alberto Fernandez, Salvador Benlloch, Victoria Aguilera, Martín Prieto, Jose‐Miguel Rayón, Joaquín Berenguer – 18 April 2006 – There are unresolved issues regarding sustained virological response (SVR), tolerance and risk of rejection following antiviral therapy in liver transplantation (LT). The aim of our study was to determine efficacy, rejection risk and factors associated with SVR.

Noriyo Yamashiki, Yasuhiko Sugawara, Sumihito Tamura, Junichi Kaneko, Kayo Nojiri, Masao Omata, Masatoshi Makuuchi – 5 April 2006 – The selection of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) recipients in regions where deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT) is rarely performed might be different from that in other centers at which LDLT is an alternative option to DDLT. Records of adult (age ≥ 18 yr) patients referred to our center were reviewed to analyze the selection process of LDLT candidates. Among the 533 LDLT candidates, 165 (31%) were rejected due to recipient issues.

Nina Singh, Timothy L. Pruett, Sally Houston, Patricia Muñoz, Thomas V. Cacciarelli, Marilyn M. Wagener, Shahid Husain – 5 April 2006 – Retransplantation is a major risk factor for invasive aspergillosis in liver transplant recipients. However, the risk for invasive aspergillosis with time elapsed since retransplantation, clinical characteristics, and outcome of patients who develop this infection after retransplantation of the liver has not been defined. Patients comprised 17 liver retransplant recipients with invasive aspergillosis between 1990 and 2004.

Alessandro Cucchetti, Giorgio Ercolani, Marco Vivarelli, Matteo Cescon, Matteo Ravaioli, Giuliano La Barba, Matteo Zanello, Gian Luca Grazi, Antonio Daniele Pinna – 5 April 2006 – The objective of this study was to predict postoperative liver failure and morbidity after hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with cirrhosis. The model for end‐stage liver disease (MELD) score is currently accepted as a disease severity index of cirrhotic patients awaiting liver transplantation; however, its impact on prognosis after resection of HCC on cirrhosis has never been investigated.

Urmila Khettry, Gissou Azabdaftari, Mary Ann Simpson, Elizabeth A. Pomfret, James J. Pomposelli, W. David Lewis, Roger L. Jenkins, Fredric D. Gordon – 5 April 2006 – The Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease (MELD) scoring system, a validated objective liver disease severity scale, was adopted in February 2002 to allocate cadaveric organs for liver transplantation (LT). To improve transplantability before succumbing to advanced disease, patients with low‐stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are given extra points in this system commensurate with their predicted mortality.

Gary Levy, Heinz Schmidli, Jeffrey Punch, Elizabeth Tuttle‐Newhall, David Mayer, Peter Neuhaus, Didier Samuel, Bjorn Nashan, Juergen Klempnauer, Alan Langnas, Yvon Calmus, Xavier Rogiers, Michael Abecassis, Richard Freeman, Maarten Sloof, John Roberts, Lutz Fischer – 5 April 2006 – Everolimus is a macrolide immunosuppressive agent with known consistent absorption. In this double‐blind study, we examined the safety and tolerability of everolimus vs. placebo in de novo liver transplant recipients.

Stefan Mauss, Massimo Puoti – 23 March 2006