Hepatobiliary pathology.
OBJECTIVE
Recent papers on disorders of the liver and biliary tract which clarify their pathogenesis and attendant morphologic changes are highlighted.


RESULTS
The concept of 'bystander hepatitis' was cited in studies showing hepatic infiltration of CD8-positive T cells in the setting of extrahepatic infections such as influenza virus and severe acute respiratory syndrome. Diabetic liver lesions include glycogenic hepatopathy (in which poor diabetic control leads to swollen, glycogen-filled hepatocytes without fat, steatohepatitis or fibrosis) and diabetic hepatosclerosis in which there is diffuse perisinusoidal fibrosis (type IV collagen) without zonal predilection. Ground-glass hepatocellular inclusions (positive with periodic acid-Schiff stain for glycogen) were reported in three separate series of patients who were hepatitis B virus-negative, often transplant recipients, immunosuppressed and on multiple medications. A Banff consensus paper expertly compared and contrasted the histologic features which characterize the various causes of late liver allograft dysfunction.


CONCLUSIONS
Informative papers emerged this past year concerning collateral damage to the liver in extrahepatic infections, diabetic lesions and causes of liver dysfunction after transplantation, among other topics.
Lefkowitch
Jay H
JH
Department of Pathology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032, USA. jhl3@columbia.edu
D001649:Bile Duct Diseases / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D001706:Biopsy; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology