Nutritional and metabolic issues in cirrhosis and liver transplantation.

In the last year some relevant papers on nutrition and metabolism in chronic liver disease and transplantation have been published. Studies investigating the reliability of predicting energy expenditure in cirrhosis, and some relevant contributions to the understanding of metabolic consequences of liver transplantation, deserve particular mention. These include the first direct evidence that liver transplantation corrects the insulin resistance present in cirrhosis, as well as studies on the role of genetic polymorphism of the vitamin D receptor gene in bone loss after transplantation. Other papers have dealt with body composition, polyunsaturated fatty acid and antioxidant status in cirrhosis. However, relevant contributions in the field of nutritional support in cirrhosis are surprisingly lacking.