Liver transplantation in patients over 60 years of age.

Liver transplantation was previously only offered to patients under 60 years of age. We have analyzed the outcome after acceptance on the waiting list and after liver transplantation of patients over 60 years old. A total of 150 patients over 60 years old were listed for a first liver transplantation during 1990-1998.

Liver transplantation in the Nordic countries, 1982-1998: changes of indications and improving results.

Background: Liver transplantation has become an established therapeutic option for patients with life-threatening liver disease. The aim of the present study was to analyse the results of and developments in liver transplantation in the Nordic countries during a 15-year period.

Methods: Data on all patients receiving a liver allograft in the Nordic countries during 1982-98 and waiting list data for all patients listed for a liver transplantation after 1989 were obtained from the Nordic Liver Transplantation Registry.

Reconstitution of the actin-scavenger system after orthotopic liver transplantation for end-stage liver disease: a prospective and longitudinal study.

Serum levels of the actin scavenger Gc-globulin (group-specific component, vitamin D-binding protein), a member of the albumin multigene family, are decreased in severe liver disease but have not been evaluated in relation to liver transplantation. We measured Gc-globulin and Gc-globulin-actin complex ratio daily for 2 weeks after transplantation in 17 patients with end-stage liver disease. Before transplantation, Gc-globulin levels were significantly less in the patients than in healthy controls (235 +/- 106 v 340 +/- 35 mg/L, respectively; P<.

The Nordic multicenter double-blind randomized controlled trial of prophylactic ursodeoxycholic acid in liver transplant patients.

Background: Prophylactic treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) has been reported to reduce the incidence of acute rejection after liver transplantation compared with historical controls. We investigated this in a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled multicenter study.

Methods: Fifty-four liver transplant patients were allocated to the UDCA treatment group (15 mg/kg/day), and 48 patients were allocated to the placebo group.