Heterogeneity of Bile Duct Management in the Development of Ischemic Cholangiopathy After Liver Transplantation: Results of a European Liver and Intestine Transplant Association Survey.

Background: Surgical factors and direct cytotoxicity of bile salts on cholangiocytes may play a role in the development of ischemic cholangiopathy (IC) after liver transplantation (LTx). There is no validated consensus on how to protect the bile ducts during procurement, static preservation, and LTx. Meanwhile, IC remains the most troublesome complication after LTx.

Long-term significant seasonal differences in the numbers of new-borns with an orofacial cleft in the Czech Republic - a retrospective study.

Background: Choosing the optimal season for conception is a part of family planning since it can positively influence the pregnancy outcome. Changes in the monthly number of infants born with a birth defect can signal prenatal damage - death or malformation - related to a harmful seasonal factor. The aim of our paper was to search for possible seasonal differences in the numbers of new-borns with an orofacial cleft and thus for a period of conception that can increase the risk of orofacial cleft development.

Parenterally administered dipeptide alanyl-glutamine prevents worsening of insulin sensitivity in multiple-trauma patients.

Background: Dipeptide alanyl-glutamine is a commonly used substrate in major trauma patients. Its importance and effects are widely discussed; as yet, it has not been elucidated whether its administration influences glucose homeostasis.

Objective: We studied the effect of alanyl-glutamine administration on insulin resistance.

Changes in cholesterol and its precursors during the first days after major trauma.

Background: The causes of hypocholesterolemia in the critically ill, including major trauma patients, have not yet been fully elucidated.

Objective: We tested the hypothesis that hypocholesterolemia is caused by decreased production of cholesterol precursors.

Design: Serum concentrations of squalene, lanosterol, and lathosterol were measured on admission, and then at 24 and 48 hours after injury using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.

A genetic study in hypertrophic cardiomyopathies (Czech population).

In order to verify the type of heredity and to identify other genealogical characteristics in the Czech population, the authors examined 105 families with incidence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The probands' siblings presented a 24-percent empiric risk of the disease; in male probands the risk for brothers was four times that for sisters, in female probands it was three times higher for sisters than brothers. Sex ratio of affected siblings was 20:4 in male and 3:14 in female probands.