This special issue of Annals of Hepatology is aimed to highlight an aspect which is growing steadily for more than a decade, i.e., how hepatology is becoming one, if not the most important field of modern translational medical research. This is due to the multitasking activity of the liver which is anatomically and functionally ideally located to accomplish this demanding task. Thus, is not surprising that since the dawn of human life, haruspices have looked at the liver as the best spot to predict the future. The Liver Tablet (1900BC-1600BC) at the British Museum in London, a clay inscribed model of a sheep's liver probably used for instructing pupils, and the Liver of Piacenza (200BC-100BC), an Etruscan bronze artifact subdivided into 16 sections to perform haruspicy (hepatoscopy) are excellent examples.
The wide and multi-science topics covered in this issue of Annals of Hepatology are good examples of how modern liver-oriented clinicians and researchers must deal with a wide range of expertise going from clinical epidemiology and diagnosis to sophisticated molecular biology and genetics. The arguments covered range from mainly clinical issues as the use of albumin either in the management of hepatic encephalopathy or in the treatment of ascites undergoing paracentesis to molecular oncology with the effect of the LncRNA EPIC1 in promoting proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis of gallbladder cancer cells passing through the novel and promising role of alternative splicing and liver disease. The study on the extrahepatic causes of death in cirrhosis compared to other chronic conditions further indicate the pivotal role played by the liver in human health.
The choice of Annals of Hepatology to dedicate a special issue to these truly translational aspects of modern “liver science” speaks for the vision of the Editors and makes the journal a good turf for future hepatological research.
