Recurrent hepatitis C after retransplantation: factors affecting graft and patient outcome.

Retransplantation (re-LT) of patients with recurrent hepatitis C virus (HCV) carries significant morbidity and mortality, negatively impacting on an already scarce donor allograft pool. In this study, we investigated the outcome of allografts and patients after re-LT due to recurrent HCV. Between 1989 and 2002, 47 patients were retransplanted at our institution due to HCV-related graft failure.

Endoscopic diagnosis of bleeding Meckel's diverticulum in a multivisceral transplant recipient.

Small bowel transplantation has become a life-saving procedure for patients with intestinal failure who fail conventional therapy. Meckel's diverticulum is a rare cause of occult gastrointestinal bleeding that has not been reported in patients receiving intestinal allografts. We report a case in which transplantation of an asymptomatic Meckel's diverticulum as part of a multivisceral allograft led to intestinal bleeding requiring surgical intervention.

Gender differences in pharmacokinetics of alcohol.

Background: The enhanced vulnerability of women to develop alcohol-related diseases may be due to their higher blood alcohol levels after drinking, but the mechanism for this effect is debated.

Methods: Sixty-five healthy volunteers of both genders drank 0.3 g of ethanol/kg of body weight (as 5%, 10%, or 40% solutions) postprandially.

Alcoholic Liver Disease.

The traditional approach to alcoholism is treatment of underlying psychological and behavioral problems. Earlier and more direct avenues to prevent or counteract alcohol's effects include a focus on early detection of alcoholism, using, in part, biochemical markers of heavy drinking such as carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) and screening, among heavy users of alcohol, for signs of medical complications. Only a few heavy drinkers eventually develop liver cirrhosis.