Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0019163 (hepatitis B)
 38,309 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

During a total population survey of viral hepatitis in the London Boroughs of Hounslow, Richmond and Ealing, 784 patients were seen in three years from 1 March 1972 to 28 February 1975. A diagnosis of viral hepatitis was accepted in 489. The annual incidence was 24 per 100 000. 455 of the patients were tested for the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) by a radioimmunoassay technique and 93 (20%) of these were positive. The majority of the patients with type B hepatitis were in their third or fourth decades. None was under the age of 16. The male to female ratio among patients with hepatitis B was 2 to 1 in those under the age of 30 and 5 to 1 in those aged 30 and over. The seasonal distribution of viral hepatitis showed a peak in the spring, solely from an increased incidence of non-B hepatitis, and a second, smaller peak in the autumn. There was no appreciable clustering of patients except for one local outbreak in a housing estate during the first year affecting mainly children going to the same primary school, and their parents. Patients with hepatitis B had a longer pre-icteric illness (p less than 0.05), greater duration of jaundice (p less than 0.001) and higher peak levels of serum bilirubin (p less than 0.0005) and serum alanine amino transferase (A1T) (p less than 0.03) than patients with non-B hepatitis. The finding of the surface antigen was also associated with a higher frequency of skin rash (p less than 0.0005) and a greater duration of arthralgia (p less than 0.03). Among the HBsAg negative patients the incidence of arthralgia increased with age (p less than 0.0005). Abdominal pain (p less than 0.005) and vomiting (p less than 0.005) were more common in the young. The injection experience of patients with hepatitis B showed a high proportion of 'non-therapeutic' exposure such as drug addiction. Significantly more HBsAg positive men were single than in the local community (p less than 0.001) or among the HBsAg negative men (p less than 0.01). There was no significant difference between the proportions of single women among the antigen positive and negative patients. Many of the HBsAg positive single men were either known to be or strongly suspected of being homosexual. The ad subtype of the HBsAg was found more often in males (p less than 0.01), particularly over the age of 30. All eight drug addicts tested for subtype were ay, as were two non-addicted female consorts. The association between addiction and ay subtype was highly significant in the males (p less than 0.001). The ad subtype was found in all 11 of the admitted homosexual HBsAg positive men and in all but one of the 17 strongly suspected of being homosexual.
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PMID:A three-year survey of viral hepatitis in West London. 71 74

The behaviour of drug addicts and alcoholics leads to the cooperation of risk factors concerning the development of chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocarcinoma. The authors evaluate the prevalence of infections from B, C and Delta virus among a group of 40 intravenous drug users and 40 alcoholics affering to a territorial centre for drug dependence located in Valtellina (Italy). The prevalence of at least one serum marker of virus B, C or Delta hepatitis results to be 85% among drug addicts and 17% among alcoholics. The prevalence of Anti-HCV in alcoholics results to be much lower than found in former works. For what concerns the hepatitis B virus, 68% of the drug addicts and 10% of the alcoholics had at least one positive serum marker. The hepatitis B seronegative patients underwent vaccination with a recombinant-DNA vaccine. Those affected by chronic C hepatitis have been treated with alpha-recombinant interferon. All of the patients underwent health education, psychotherapy and drug-addiction therapy for a period of 8 months. These strategies in prevention and therapy aim to the reduction over the years of the incidence of chronic hepatitis liver cirrhosis and hepatocarcinoma among intravenous drug users and alcoholics.
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PMID:[Prevalence of liver damage in alcoholics and drug addicts]. 176 28

The demographics, drug habits, and medical complications of a cohort of 1,129 addicts treated at Lexington in the period 1971-1972 were studied. These patients, admitted from 41 different states, had a mean period of addiction of 5.4 years. Over one-third of the sample had engaged in pimping or prostitution, and there were no differences by gender in terms of involvement. Eight-eight percent had shared injection equipment, and surprisingly, 78% admitted to some effort at sterilizing their "works." Hepatitis was the most common associated medical condition: 87% had serologic markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, 60% had evidence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) exposure, and 47% had abnormal liver function parameters. Gynecomastia was evident in 2% of male subjects. Thirteen percent of the sample had a reactive VDRL assay, but 64% of these were biologically false positive. Subtle abnormalities of immune function were also observed; 18% of the patients had recent unexplained weight loss, 6% had lymphadenopathy, 8% had leukopenia, and 2% had lymphocytopenia. We conclude that both HBV and HAV were important infectious disease risks in these addicts, and that many evidenced deficiencies in immune function well before AIDS became a major public health concern.
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PMID:The Lexington addicts, 1971-1972: demographic characteristics, drug use patterns, and selected infectious disease experience. 259 82

A revision of 16 newborns and their heroin-addicted mothers was carried out. The mean maternal age was 23.06 +/- 3.43 years, and mean duration of addiction was 3.07 +/- 1.43 years. The last dose of heroin was administered less than 24 hours prior to giving birth in every [corrected] case except one. Antenatal care was irregular and previous abortions were frequent. Two mothers had a history of syphilis, five had markers for anti-HIV antibodies. The mean duration of pregnancy was 37.8 +/- 2.28 weeks, and unknown in five cases. Mean birth weight was 2.715 +/- 281 g. Withdrawal symptoms were observed in 13 babies. Of these, 12 required treatment with phenobarbital and in 1 case with chlorpromazine as well. In 9 babies, hepatitis B prophylaxis was carried out and three had HIV antibodies.
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PMID:[The newborn infant of the drug addicted mother. Clinical and therapeutic problems]. 263 2

100 parenteral drug abusers attending an addiction clinic were studied for past or present infection with hepatitis A and B virus (HAV and HBV) by sensitive serological assays for hepatitis B surface and e-antigen and antibodies to HBsAg, HBeAg, HBcAg and HAV. 44% of the individuals had past HAV infection, which is 4 times as high compared to the general population in Denmark. 83% had evidence of past or present HBV infection with no difference between men and women. This is 30 times higher than in the general population in Denmark. 18% of the subjects studied were positive for HBsAg and/or anti-HBc alone, but only 3 of these were positive for HBeAg (3%). Serum transaminase values were often elevated but this finding could not differentiate between patients with or without HBV infection. Infection with HBV appeared to take place during the first year of the drug addict's career, and to eliminate this major reservoir of HBV infection the main objective will be to prevent new susceptible individuals in getting addicted.
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PMID:Viral hepatitis among parenteral drug addicts attending a Danish addiction clinic. 660 53

To assess the degree of immune system activation associated with addiction or hepatotropic viruses infection, we examined 60 HIV-negative heroin addicts for the presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection markers, hepatitis C virus antibodies (anti-HCV), various auto-antibodies, and serum levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptors (sIL-2R). In addition, 28 anti-HCV positive patients comprising the disease control group, were also examined. Our results demonstrated a high prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies (61.7% and 90% with 1st and 2nd generation ELISA, respectively). Eighty-seven percent (87%) of the addicts positive for anti-HCV by the latter and 92.8% of the disease control patients, were also positive with 2nd generation recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA-II). In 88.9% of anti-HCV positive addicts, antibody to C22-3 was the predominant (anti-C33c in 81.5%). Antibodies to C33c and C22-3 polypeptides were also more frequent in disease control group (92.8% and 85.7%, respectively). Anti-HCV antibodies were associated with increased transaminases (ALT or AST, P < 0.05), as well as with longer duration of addiction (P < 0.005). HBV infection markers (HBsAg, anti-HBc only and anti-HBs) were also present in the addicts (5%, 28.3% and 26.7%, respectively). Rheumatoid factors (RF) were detected in 36.7%, antinuclear antibodies (ANA) in 11.7%, antibodies (IgG and/or IgM) against cardiolipin (anti-CL) and double stranded DNA (anti-ds DNA) in 20% and 50%, respectively. RF, ANA, anti-CL and anti-dsDNA antibodies were also detected in the disease control group (32.1%, 89.3%, 28.5% and 28.5% respectively).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Immunologic and viral markers in the circulation of anti-HIV negative heroin addicts. 768 80

A test was carried out involving 94 newborn babies whose birth occurred in Alfredo da Costa Maternity between November 1991 and February 1994. The aims of this study were to find out the frequency of social and obstetric risks, to assess the neonatal, mobility, namely as regards the withdrawal syndrome, and also the repercussion of drug-addiction in the children's development. The frequency was 1 newborn baby of a drug-addicted mother for 106 pregnant women. In 67 out of 94 cases there was pre-natal follow-up. In such cases, the frequency of prematurity, of the withdrawal syndrome, and the possibility of preventive treatment of sexually contagious illnesses (Syphilis, hepatitis B, and aids) decreased. 8.5% of the 94 newborn babies were handed over to relatives or for adoption. Only in a small number of cases was it possible to keep the babies under regular observation. However, all of them showed hypertony and bulimia, which disappeared between the 8th and 9th months.
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PMID:[Neonates born to drug-addicted mothers]. 774 4

The incidence of exposure to hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) viruses and to that of HTLV 1 and 2 were investigated in a group of 181 illicit drug users attending a drug rehabilitation centre in Jerusalem. In this predominantly male group, 28% were intravenous drug abusers (IVDAs) and 72% non-IVDAs; 92% of the individuals were of Middle Eastern descent (of which 40% were of a Moroccan descent). Antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) were found in 54% of the IVDAs compared with 4.5% in the non-IVDAs (p < 0.001), indicating the presence of a significant reservoir of HCV among this IVDA group. Evidence for previous hepatitis B (HBV) infection was found in 26% of the IVDAs and 33% of the non-IVDAs (p = NS) with no HbSAg positivity. The similar prevalence of previous HBV infection in both drug abuser groups, which was also observed when the groups were analysed according to their ethnic origin, suggests that a vertical transmission of HBV rather than an exclusive association with intravenous drug abuse may have been the source of exposure to HBV. HTLV-1 rates were 2% among IVDAs and 0% among non-IVDAs (p = NS). No serologic evidence for HTLV-2 was detected in this cohort. The present study supports previous observations in other countries and indicates the exceptionally high prevalence of HCV infection among Israeli i.v. drug abusers. It also suggests that using HBV seropositivity as an indicator for needle exchange among drug abusers may be of limited value in geographic areas where vertical transmission of HBV is common. HCV antibodies might become more suitable markers for this purpose.
Addiction 1994 Jul
PMID:Exposure to hepatitis B and C and to HTLV-1 and 2 among Israeli drug abusers in Jerusalem. 808 Nov 85

Addiction, because of its associated psychological and physical diseases, is producing increasing expenses through social burden and influencing the epidemiological situation of the whole population via sexual or simple intimate social contacts. Outstanding infectious diseases with a high incidence in drug addicts are tuberculosis, hepatitis A, hepatitis B and the classical notifiable venereal diseases. Preventive measures are required, involving immunization and isolation. HIV infection is another increasing problem in drug addicts. The relatively long asymptomatic course in this population also raises the potential for the spread of AIDS to the general population. There is no ideal method for preventing this danger, but because the traditional abstinence paradigm has not been successful, methadone substitution is improving the medical compliance of this difficult clientele, reducing crime and prostitution and, at the same time, drug-associated risks for the general population.
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PMID:Correlation between disease and community: is drug addiction a problem of fringe groups? 830 37

The Health of the Nation initiative in the United Kingdom includes a target aimed at reducing the proportion of current injecting drug users who share syringes. The PHLS Collaborative Survey of Salivary Antibodies to HIV and Hepatitis B core in injecting drug users is a comprehensive and national surveillance mechanism which routinely collects data that can be used to monitor progress toward this target. Nineteen per cent of injecting drug users (353/1876) in 1992 and 18% (375/2138) in 1993 shared previously used injecting equipment (difference of -1.3%, 95% Cl -3.7%, 1.1%). Only with further years of data collection will it be possible to tell if this decline represents a real change in behaviour. There was a substantial reduction in the proportion of sharers who received previously used needles and syringes from more than one person, from 45% (138/305) in 1992 to 27% (81/298) in 1993 (fall of 18%, 95% Cl 11%, 26%). This decline could indicate a real reduction in risk behaviour that is not reflected in the target. Monitoring this aspect of sharing could be an important supplementary measure. Women were more likely to have share (adjusted OR = 1.87, 95% Cl 1.53, 2.28) and the likelihood of sharing declined with age (adjusted OR of each 5-year age band = 0.75, 95% Cl 0.72, 0.79). Particular attention should be given to interventions which aim to reduce sharing among women and young people. Clients of agencies at which the main service provided was syringe exchange were less likely to have shared than attenders of other types of agencies (adjusted OR = 0.69, 95% Cl 0.51, 0.93). This suggests that syringe exchange schemes play a role in reducing the transmission of HIV infection.
Addiction 1995 Oct
PMID:The Health of the Nation target on syringe sharing: a role for routine surveillance in assessing progress and targeting interventions. 861 67


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