Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0019158 (hepatitis)
 30,205 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Abnormalities in iron metabolism have been reported in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). To assess the frequency of abnormal hepatic iron deposition in these patients and to examine potential causes of iron overload, we analyzed the amount of iron at different cellular sites in liver sections obtained at autopsy of 78 patients with AIDS. Quantitation of serum iron and transferrin levels and estimation of total iron binding capacity was obtained using serum from 63 patients. The number of whole blood/packed red blood cell transfusions and opportunistic infections was recorded. Of the 78 patients, 25 (32%) showed a Grade 3 or 4 (0-4 scale) iron level, distributed in three patterns, i.e., in hepatocytes only, in hepatocytes and Kupffer cells, and in Kupffer cells only. In these 25 livers, 4 had cirrhosis, with no documented cause; the mean number of transfusions was 12.5; and 16 (64%) had Mycobacterium avium-Mycobacterium intracellulare infection. In the 53 livers with little or no iron, 5 had cirrhosis, with 3 of those 5 listing alcoholic liver disease or hepatitis as the cause; the mean number of transfusions was 1.4; and 18 (34%) had Mycobacterium avium-Mycobacterium intracellulare infection. Transferrin saturation was more than 50% in 6 (29%) of 21 cases with increased hepatic iron levels and in 6 (14%) of 42 cases with little or no hepatic iron. These results indicate that hepatic iron overload in patients with AIDS is associated with blood transfusions, an elevated transferrin saturation, and Mycobacterium avium-Mycobacterium intracellulare infection. Significant hepatic iron deposition in patients with AIDS with no other apparent cause of cirrhosis suggests an etiologic role for iron in hepatic injury. The increase in hepatic iron levels in these patients has potentially adverse clinical effects related to the use of transfusions, iron supplements, and iron-containing drugs.
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PMID:Increased hepatic iron in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: an autopsy study. 938 70

Elevation of serum iron is frequently observed in patients' with chronic Hepatitis C virus infection and was found to be a negative predictive factor for treatment response. We prospectively evaluated the iron status of 112 patients with acute viral infection not due to hepatitis viruses. The virus infections included Epstein-Barr virus (57%), cytomegalovirus (22.3%) and others (20.7%). Increased serum iron was documented in two patients only. Out of nine patients who were evaluated twice, seven had increased serum iron but the level remained well within the normal range. Transferrin saturation was normal in all patients. Disturbed liver function tests were documented in 30-40% of patients. We conclude that serum iron is not significantly increased during acute non (A-E) hepatitis viral infections with or without liver involvement.
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PMID:The status of serum iron and transferrin saturation in acute non-hepatotrophic viral infections. 1150 20

In untreated hepatitis virus (HCV)-positive renal transplant patients, the rate of liver fibrosis progression is low. In contrast, in those treated by ribavirin monotherapy, liver fibrosis score increased significantly after only 1 year of ribavirin monotherapy. The aim of this study was to identify the factors that might contribute to accelerate liver fibrosis progression in this population. Eleven patients were included in the study. Intrahepatic transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta, interferon (IFN)-gamma, and interleukin (IL)-10 mRNA quantification determined by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were similar before and after ribavirin therapy. The number of amino acid substitutions observed in the hypervariable region (HVR)-1 of the HCV genome between baseline and 1 year after ribavirin monotherapy was low, i.e., 3 (1-11) amino acid substitutions, suggesting the absence of a high selection pressure induced by ribavirin. In contrast, due to ribavirin-induced hemolysis, there was a significant increase in serum ferritin levels (P = 0.02) and in intrahepatic iron deposition (P = 0.04). Transferrin level and total iron-binding capacity decreased significantly during ribavirin monotherapy (P = 0.004). The increased liver fibrosis observed in renal transplant patients receiving ribavirin monotherapy could be related to ribavirin-induced anemia. Severe chronic hemolysis is responsible for iron overload, liver iron deposition, and an acceleration in the progression of liver fibrosis.
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PMID:Factors accelerating liver fibrosis progression in renal transplant patients receiving ribavirin monotherapy for chronic hepatitis C. 1577 76