Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:2.6.1.2 (alanine aminotransferase)
 26,722 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The risks of acquisition of hepatitis C infection, the histological spectrum of liver disease, and the presence of viraemia were investigated in anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody positive blood donors. All 357 (0.64%) blood donors to the South Australian Red Cross Transfusion Service found to have anti-HCV antibody during the first seven months of testing in 1990 were assessed, and 70 (19.6%) were found to have elevated alanine transaminase levels. These subjects were referred for participation in the study; 31 presented for enrollment. Sixteen (52%) of the 31 patients had previously used intravenous drugs, four (13%) had been transfused, two (6%) had a history of occupational exposure to blood, and three (10%) had tattoos and ear-piercing as possible risk factors for acquisition of hepatitis C. There was no history of parenteral exposure in six (16%). None of these donors had clinical evidence of liver disease, but in all 24 of the 31 who had a liver biopsy there was histological evidence of significant liver damage. Twelve had evidence of chronic active hepatitis. All 24 subjects biopsied were viraemic as judged by the presence of HCV RNA in serum.
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PMID:Chronic liver disease in asymptomatic hepatitis C antibody positive blood donors. 768 7

Acute hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is typically distinguished from chronic disease by a positive IgM anti-hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) test. Patients with chronic hepatitis B remain hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) positive, often with raised serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities, for more than six months. The presence of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) and HBV-DNA correlates with infectivity (although patients infected with the pre-core mutated virus may be HBeAg negative). Immunity after HBV infection is characterised by the presence of anti-HBs and anti-HBc antibodies. Patients who respond to interferon alfa treatment lose HBV-DNA and HBeAg from serum and their ALT values return to normal; some also lose HBsAg and acquire anti-HBs. Diagnosis of acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains largely dependent on history and exclusion, as anti-HCV antibodies may appear late or never at all, although HCV-RNA may be detectable on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) within days of infection. Second generation ELISAs detect a range of anti-HCV antibodies in chronic infections, and confirmatory RIBAs have reduced the incidence of false-positive results. Direct tests for HCV antigens in serum are not yet available, although PCR testing for HCV-RNA can be used to confirm viraemia. Patients who respond to interferon alfa treatment show continuous normalisation of serum ALT values, and some lose HCV-RNA. Relapse occurs in about half of all those who respond.
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PMID:Viral markers in the treatment of hepatitis B and C. 768 14

The pattern of hepatitis C virus (HCV) viremia in blood donors who are positive for antibody to HCV (anti-HCV) according to the level of transaminase activity is unclear. A polymerase chain reaction-based HCV RNA detection method was used to study two clearly defined groups of anti-HCV-positive blood donors with repeatedly normal (n = 27) and elevated (n = 17) alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. HCV RNA was detected in only 4 of 27 blood donors with normal ALT values and 15 of 17 with elevated ALT values. These results indicate that anti-HCV-positive blood donors with normal ALT levels constitute a heterogeneous group, as HCV viremia is detectable in only a small proportion of cases. Polymerase chain reaction should be useful in the surveillance of anti-HCV-positive blood donors with normal ALT levels, by identifying those who might benefit from further investigation and treatment.
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PMID:Hepatitis C virus RNA in serum of blood donors with or without elevated transaminase levels. 768 57

The incidence of post-transfusion hepatitis non-A, non-B (PTH-NANB) was prospectively assessed among open-heart surgery patients from the southeast region of Sweden before the introduction of antihepatitis C virus (HCV) blood donor screening. Blood samples for alanine aminotransferase analysis were drawn before and 2, 3, and 4 months after transfusion. Surgery was performed in four centres. Of 190 transfused and followed-up patients 2 (1.1%) contracted PTH-NANB, both operated on at the centre with significantly fewer transfusions than the other centres. One patient had antibodies to HCV detected by first-generation (C100-3) and later by second-generation anti-HCV enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA-2) and by positive second-generation recombinant immunoblot assay (4-RIBA). The other patient, although negative by first-generation anti-HCV ELISA, was positive by second-generation ELISA and by 4-RIBA. Both patients were hepatitis C-viremic by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). All the six donors implicated in the two hepatitis cases were first-generation anti-HCV-negative, but two, one for each patient, were positive by second-generation anti-HCV ELISA. This finding was confirmed by positive 4-RIBA in only 1 donor, the other being 'indeterminate'. However, in both donors hepatitis C viremia was found by PCR. This study shows that the second-generation anti-HCV ELISA will further reduce the risk for PTH-NANB/C and draws attention to the problem of evaluation of confirmatory tests.
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PMID:Also with a restrictive transfusion policy, screening with second-generation anti-hepatitis C virus enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay would have reduced post-transfusion hepatitis C after open-heart surgery. 768 44

Seventy-three Swedish blood donors (52 men, 21 women; median age 36 years) repeatedly reactive for hepatitis C antibodies (anti-HCV C-100-3) were tested with a second-generation (2nd-gen) anti-HCV Elisa and a 4-band recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA 2). These results were correlated to serum alanine aminotransferase (S-ALAT), liver morphology and viremia as detected by 'nested' polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based on primers from a 5'-noncoding sequence of the HCV genome. Thirty-five of 46 (76%) donors with positive 2nd-gen Elisa tests confirmed by RIBA 2 were PCR positive whereof 27 had histological findings compatible with chronic persistent hepatitis (CPH) and 7 had chronic active hepatitis (CAH). Ten of 56 (18%) 2nd-gen Elisa-positive donors were RIBA 2 negative (or indeterminate) and none of these had chronic hepatitis nor were PCR positive. Seventeen of 73 (23%) donors were 1st-gen Elisa positive but 2nd-gen Elisa negative. All of these were PCR negative and only 1 (6%) had chronic hepatitis (CPH). An elevated S-ALAT level (reference < 0.7 mu kat/l) was found in 26 2nd-gen Elisa and RIBA 2-positive donors of which 18 had CPH and 7 had CAH and all 25 were PCR positive. A normal S-ALAT level was found in 9 of 34 (26%) donors with chronic hepatitis (all had CPH) and positive PCR. We have found that blood donors with positive 2nd-gen anti-HCV Elisa tests confirmed by RIBA-2 and especially with a concomitant elevated S-ALAT are highly likely to be viremic as demonstrated by PCR and to have chronic hepatitis.
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PMID:Second-generation hepatitis C Elisa antibody tests confirmed by the four-antigen recombinant immunoblot assay correlate well with hepatitis C viremia and chronic liver disease in Swedish blood donors. 768 76

There is controversy about clinical management of individuals who persistently have hepatitis C virus antibodies (HCVAb) but who have no symptoms or signs of liver disease. Liver biopsy samples were taken from 15 individuals, all of whom had normal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels, to determine the prevalence of liver disease and whether HCVAb and HCV-RNA correlate with histological findings. Eleven patients with hepatitis C viremia had histological evidence of chronic hepatitis on biopsy. On the other hand, four HCV-RNA-negative individuals had almost normal liver histology. These findings indicate that serum HCV-RNA is a sensitive and specific marker of liver disease in HCVAb-positive subjects, independent of ALT levels. Furthermore, these results suggest that there are very few histologically healthy carriers of HCV among HCV-RNA-positive individuals.
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PMID:Histological findings in asymptomatic hepatitis C virus carriers. 769 8

Eighty patients with chronic hepatitis C who completed a previously reported randomized controlled trial on the efficacy of interferon-alpha 2b were followed up for at least 36 mo after therapy discontinuation. Seventeen patients (21.2%) maintained normal ALT values throughout the follow-up; 63 (78.8%) either did not normalize the levels of ALT or relapsed during the follow-up. A significantly greater proportion of patients treated with 3 million units of interferon three times a week subcutaneously for 48 wk were long-term responders compared with patients treated for 24 wk. Sex, age, hepatitis C virus antibody status, source of infection and pretreatment levels of ALT were not predictive of long-term response. Cirrhosis was found to be an unfavorable predictive factor. After 3 yr of follow-up, clearance of viremia was observed in 58.9% of the 17 long-term responders but in none of the non-responders (p = 0.002). E2-NS1 antibody tested negative in 88.2% of long-term responders and in 14.3% of nonresponders (p = 0.001). Fifty-nine percent of long-term responders tested negative for C100-NS4 antibody compared with 14.3% of nonresponders (p = 0.031). No significant change was observed in other antibodies. Four long-term responders underwent liver biopsy 2 yr after discontinuation of therapy. All four patients had normal liver histology compared with baseline assessment of chronic active hepatitis in three and chronic persistent hepatitis in the other. Three of the four were negative for serum hepatitis C virus RNA.
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PMID:Long-term follow-up of patients with chronic hepatitis C treated with different doses of interferon-alpha 2b. 769 94

Fourteen patients with chronic hepatitis C who had a sustained response to a 60-week interferon alfa-2b treatment course were followed, biochemically and virologically, 2 years after treatment cessation. Biopsies were repeated in 12 of 14 for histological and virological evaluation at 2-year follow-up. All 14 patients had normal serum alanine transaminase (s-ALT) levels and were negative for hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in serum during treatment and at short-term follow-up 6 months post-treatment. At 2-year follow-up, 13 patients still had normal ALT levels (< 0.6 mukat/L for women; < 0.8 mukat/L for men), 1 a near normal level (0.76 mukat/L); all were HCV RNA negative in serum, and 11 of 12 also in the liver. Liver histology improved during treatment and remained stable during the 2-year follow-up. The authors conclude that most sustained responders, who have normal ALT levels and are nonviremic at short-term follow-up 6 months after interferon treatment, will continue to have a durable long-term response without relapse of the viremia.
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PMID:Two-year biochemical, virological, and histological follow-up in patients with chronic hepatitis C responding in a sustained fashion to interferon alfa-2b treatment. 1148 33

Antibody response in HCV infection may be variable and the variability of the serological response could be due to the differences in HCV strains. Since the distribution of hepatitis C virus genotype has been found to be geographically dependent, it is important to determine the distribution of HCV genotype in various countries with high prevalence of chronic non-A, non-B hepatitis. In this study, serum HCV RNA was examined in 53 patients suspected of chronic non-A, non-B hepatitis with an anti-HCV test as determined by currently available assay. HCV viremia was detected in 48 patients (90.6%). These patients had elevated serum ALT level at the time of HCV RNA determination. Using specific genotype probes, all isolates were classified into three different genotypes. Double and triple infections were also noted. HCV genotype 1b is the predominant genotype found in chronic hepatitis C patients in Jakarta.
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PMID:Hepatitis C virus RNA detection and HCV genotype in patients with chronic non-A, non-B hepatitis in Jakarta. 773 37

We studied the perinatal transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in 70 high risk mother/infant pairs. Seventy-six percent of the mothers (53 of 70) were coinfected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and 79% (55 of 70) had a history of drug addiction. During the follow-up HCV RNA was detected in 14 of 70 (20%) infants: 12% (2 of 17) in infants born to HIV-negative mothers; and 23% (12 of 53) in infants to HIV-positive mothers. The rate of vertical transmission was significantly higher in vaginally delivered infants than in those delivered by cesarean section (32% vs. 6%; P < 0.05). All 56 uninfected infants lost passively acquired anti-HCV by age 9 +/- 4 months and only 2 of 56 infants (4%) had evidence of HIV infection. Four of 14 HCV RNA-positive infants (29%) had evidence of HIV coinfection. We observed 3 clinical patterns of HCV infection: a transient viremia in 2 infants; an acute pattern in 2 infants; and a chronic pattern in 10 infants. All 4 HIV-coinfected infants had chronic HCV infection. All infants with a chronic pattern, had increased alanine aminotransferase values for more than 6 months and 5 had a liver biopsy that showed signs of chronic persistent hepatitis. HCV perinatal transmission was more frequent in infants born to HIV-coinfected mothers than in infants born to HIV-noninfected women, particularly when delivered vaginally.
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PMID:Perinatal transmission and manifestation of hepatitis C virus infection in a high risk population. 776 Nov 84


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