Physicians looking after patients with liver disease required only a limited knowledge

of pharmacology to manage their patients with liver disease. In the early 1980s, beta blockers were more widely used for prophylaxis against variceal bleeding, and vasopressin was increasingly used in the control of acute esophageal variceal hemorrhage. Chenodeoxycholic acid and ursodeoxycholic acid were subsequently introduced for dissolution of gallstones, but ursodeoxycholic acid is now mainly used for primary biliary cirrhosis. Technology for imaging of the liver was also limited, with gray scale ultrasound, poor quality nuclear scans, and invasive procedures such as spleno-porto-venograms being utilized to visualize the liver and its vasculature. Subsequently, agents were introduced for immunosuppression following liver transplantation, and there was an explosion of imaging technology including

ultrasound, Doppler sonography, computer Hydroxychloroquine cost tomography and positron emission tomography (PET) scans, and magnetic resonance imaging. In the last decade several agents have been introduced for treatment of hepatitis B and hepatitis C and, more recently, for palliative therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma. The current unmet need is finding a simple modality for educating the hepatologist in the proper use of newer drugs, devices or techniques. Beginning in this issue of HEPATOLOGY, we have introduced a new section termed “Diagnostic and Therapeutic Advances in Hepatology”. This

section will feature on an intermittent basis and deal mainly with agents that have been recently EPZ-6438 order added to the therapeutic and diagnostic armamentarium of the hepatologist. The section will typically be authored by an expert in the field who has had only limited ties with the particular C1GALT1 drug or device company. The format to be followed will be standardized, very practical, and patient-based. For new drugs, the discussant will cover the pharmacology of the drug, including its mechanism of action, the adverse effect profile and, most important of all, how the drug is to be used, including monitoring and dose adjustments. Since it is anticipated that there will be not only several new drugs introduced for treatment of liver disease in the future, but also newer devices (artificial and bioartificial liver support systems), as well as newer imaging modalities (such as ultrasound and MR Elastography), new devices will also be discussed. We are confident that this section will be a step in the right direction in providing the practicing hepatologist with expert and unbiased advice regarding newer advances in the field. “
“This chapter summarizes the clinical impact of recurrent hepatitis C, as well as the risk factors for disease severity, the differential diagnosis of abnormal liver tests post-liver transplant in hepatitis C patients, and the histological hallmarks of disease recurrence.