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)

Although essential mixed cryoglobulinaemia (EMC) is recognized to be frequently associated with chronic liver disease, aetiology and pathogenesis of liver damage remain unsolved questions. The purpose of this study was to assess the possible causative role of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the liver impairment occurring in patients with EMC. Twenty-six consecutive EMC patients were evaluated. All patients underwent percutaneous liver biopsy. Anti-HCV antibodies were assayed by ELISA and supported by a recombinant immunoblotting assay (4-RIBA). The prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies in patients with and without chronic active liver disease (CALD) was compared. Anti-HCV antibodies were detected in 13 patients (50%) by ELISA and confirmed in 11 of them (42.3%) by 4-RIBA, the remaining two patients being indeterminate in the supportive assay. CALD correlated significantly with anti-HCV antibodies: indeed, 7/11 (63.6%) anti-HCV+ patients showed histological and clinical pictures of CALD, compared with 1/15 (6.6%) anti-HCV- patients (P less than 0.01). With the exception of the patient who was found to be HBsAg+, no liver tissue expressed hepatitis B virus-related antigens in the hepatocytes. Additional histological findings included discrete lymphoid aggregates in portal tracts, siderosis, fatty changes, hyperplasia of Kupffer cells. It can be concluded that chronic liver damage in EMC is frequently associated with anti-HCV antibodies. Although the cause of EMC remains unknown, this study has obvious implications for clarifying the etiology of associated CALD and further supports the therapeutic use of interferons in this disease.
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PMID:Antibodies to hepatitis C virus in essential mixed cryoglobulinaemia. 153 46

We have investigated hepatitis C virus (HCV) viremia before and after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). 38 patients were examined; 16 were anti-HCV positive and 22 anti-HCV negative pre-OLT in a RIBA-2 test (Ortho Diagnostic Systems Inc., Westwood, MA). HCV-RNA was detected using a modified nested polymerase chain reaction in 14/38 and 10/38 patients before and after OLT, respectively. 7 of these 14 subjects who were HCV-RNA positive before OLT were also positive for serum hepatitis B surface antigen. After OLT, six patients became HCV-RNA positive, likely as a result of transfusions, while four developed a probable recurrence of HCV infection. Infection of the liver graft by the same strain of HCV was indeed demonstrated by sequence analysis of a hypervariable domain (in the envelope region) in two cases. This establishes the possibility of HCV recurrence and shows the usefulness of polymerase chain reaction as the only assay currently capable of identifying HCV infection after OLT.
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PMID:Reinfection of liver graft by hepatitis C virus after liver transplantation. 131 53

Potential risk factors for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma were analysed in 40 Caucasian patients with this malignancy. A higher proportion (14 of 40; 35%) had evidence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection than had evidence of either hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriage (17.5%) or alcohol abuse (30%). In all 14 patients whose sera were reactive by HCV ELISA (Ortho second generation test), the presence of antibodies to HCV were confirmed by recombinant immunoblot assay (Ortho RIBA-2). Furthermore, two independent laboratories detected HCV-RNA in 10 of the 14 (71%) anti-HCV positive sera. Two additional sera were shown to contain HCV-RNA when reanalysed by a modified PCR using oligonucleotide primers designed to amplify a shorter fragment of the 5' noncoding region of the genome. Seven of the anti-HCV positive patients also had evidence of prior HBV infection and 2 admitted to alcohol abuse. HCV infection was the only identifiable risk factor in 6 patients. These data confirm the association between HCV infection and hepatocellular carcinoma and suggest that persistent viral replication accompanies tumour development in the majority of patients whose serum contains anti-HCV.
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PMID:Detection of hepatitis C viraemia in Caucasian patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. 133 30

In 1990, a case-control study was conducted in Italy to investigate the possible association between HCV infection and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Serum samples from 65 subjects with newly diagnosed hepatocellular carcinoma and 99 hospital control subjects were tested for the presence of anti-HCV by second-generation ELISA test; positive sera were assayed by RIBA anti-HCV second-generation test. In addition, samples were tested for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), antibodies to the hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc), and antibodies to HBsAg (anti-HBs). The presence of HCV and/or HBsAg serologic markers was significantly associated with hepatocellular carcinoma risk: the relative risk (RR) of HCC was 21.3 (95% CI = 8.8-51.5) for anti-HCV positivity in the absence of HBsAg; the relative risk of HCC was 13.3 (95% CI = 5.5-32.2) for the presence of HBsAg in the absence of anti-HCV. A higher risk (77.0) was observed when both markers were present. These findings indicate that HCV and HBsAg are independent risk factors for HCC. The results of multivariate analysis showed that the adjusted RR linking anti-HCV and HCC was 26.9 (95% CI = 9.9-72.5), the adjusted RR linking HBsAg and HCC was 11.4 (95% CI = 3.1-41.4), whereas no association (RR 1.5; 95% CI = 0.6-3.6) was found to link HCC with anti-HBc and/or anti-HBs positivity. Through the computation of population attributable risk we estimate that 25% of HCC cases occurring in Italy could be attributed to anti-HCV positivity alone and 20% to HBsAg carrier state alone.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Hepatitis C virus infection, HBsAg carrier state and hepatocellular carcinoma: relative risk and population attributable risk from a case-control study in Italy. 133 85

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed by using a synthetic polypeptide (SP) whose sequence was derived from the structural region of hepatitis C virus (HCV). Results of several coded panels of sera obtained from volunteer blood donors and patients with apparent non-A, non-B hepatitis and/or hepatitis B virus used in this ELISA were compared with those of a commercially available first-generation C-100 ELISA (using nonstructural HCV antigens), an experimental second-generation C-200/C-22 ELISA (using both structural and nonstructural HCV antigens), and recombinant immunoblot assays RIBA-I and RIBA-II. In the majority of cases, the results obtained with the HCV-SP ELISA correlated well with those obtained by RIBA-II and C-200/C-22 ELISA. In contrast, many samples that were repeatedly reactive in the C-100 ELISA results were nonreactive with RIBA and HCV-SP ELISA. In addition, HCV-SP detected HCV-specific antibody that appeared within a month of infection and coincided with the earliest increase in alanine aminotransferase. In summary, we have developed an ELISA based on a structural HCV synthetic polypeptide, HCV-SP, that has high specificity and sensitivity and is capable of detecting specific antibodies in the acute phase of HCV infection.
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PMID:Detection of acute hepatitis C virus infection by ELISA using a synthetic peptide comprising a structural epitope. 137 3

To investigate the prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection in two risk groups, stored serum samples from treated haemophiliacs and intravenous drug users were tested for anti-HCV by both anti-C-100 based and second generation ELISAs (Abbott and Ortho) followed by testing in two confirmatory immunoblot assays that incorporate core as well as other non-structural antigens (Innogenetics LIA and Chiron RIBA-HCV test). Clear evidence of HCV infection was found in all but one of 78 haemophiliacs treated with non-virus inactivated clotting factor concentrates, but in none exposed only to super dry heat-treated concentrates. Only four samples gave rise to conflicting serological results between the four tests, two of these occurred in patients with advanced HIV related disease and almost certainly reflected loss of humoral immunity associated with disease progression, and the others occurred in the only two patients tested who were chronic carriers of hepatitis B infection and may reflect an interaction between the two viruses. Comparison of anti-C-100 versus second generation tests in immunocompetent drug users revealed a false negative rate of 20% using C-100 alone, indicating the advantage of using second generation assays for detection of past or current HCV infection. Of all of the antigens used in the confirmatory assay, positive sera showed strongest and most frequent reactivity with the C22 and C33c proteins (Ortho RIBA).
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PMID:Use of several second generation serological assays to determine the true prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection in haemophiliacs treated with non-virus inactivated factor VIII and IX concentrates. 158 Dec 36

Hepatitis B virus DNA (HBV-DNA) in serum was studied in 67 anti-HBe patients using dot-blot hybridization, a modified technique and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). All patients had abnormal aminotransferase (ALT) levels. Serum HBV-DNA was detected in 14/67 cases by dot-blot and in 39/67 (DNA probe) and 45/67 (RNA probe) using the modified technique. The RNA probe was more sensitive than the DNA probe when they were compared, using serial dilutions of HBV-DNA of known concentration (0.1 pg vs 1 pg, respectively). HBV-DNA was found by PCR in 57/67 patients. Ten patients were negative to serum HBV-DNA. The ALT level was significantly higher in patients with serum HBV-DNA by dot-blot as compared to those who had serum HBV-DNA by the modified technique and PCR. With respect to the presence of anti-HCV, 6/67 had anti-HCV confirmed by RIBA test. These 6 patients had serum HBV-DNA. The route of acquisition of HBV infection in anti-HCV positive patients was by parenteral exposure in 67% of the cases and 15% in HCV negative (p less than 0.05). All patients were negative to nonorganic specific autoantibodies. In summary, most of the anti-HBe patients (85%) had viral replication. HCV superinfection plays a minor role in the activity of liver disease.
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PMID:Analysis of hepatitis B virus DNA, liver disease and influence of antibody to hepatitis C virus in anti-HBe chronic carriers. 166 15

A study among heterosexual men and women with multiple sexual partners was carried out to assess the seroprevalence of antibody against hepatitis C virus (HCV). The 468 participants were recruited among visitors to the Clinic for Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Amsterdam. Sera were tested by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA; Ortho), a recombinant-based immunoblot assay (RIBA; Chiron), and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A total of 468 persons were tested, and seven (1.5%) were found ELISA positive. Another 25 (5%) were ELISA indeterminate. Six of the seven ELISA-positive cases were RIBA positive. Further serum samples from five HCV ELISA-positive persons were tested by PCR, and four were found to be positive. The HCV ELISA-positive/RIBA-indeterminate reaction was PCR negative. None of the 17 RIBA-tested sera of the ELISA-indeterminate group yielded a positive result. There was a good correlation between an ELISA optical density/cut-off ratio greater than 2 and a positive RIBA result. The risk factor for HCV appeared to be the type of sexual partner, i.e., belonging to a "high-risk" group for human immunodeficiency virus infection and origin from hepatitis B-endemic countries. It is concluded that HCV may be transmitted through heterosexual contact but probably with low efficiency.
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PMID:Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infections among heterosexuals with multiple partners. 194 Aug 79

The present study correlated histopathology and diagnostic tests in hemodialysis patients with serologic markers for hepatitis C virus (HCV). Hepatitis C virus infection was found in 65 of 163 patients, as assessed by anti-c100-3 (ELISA 1), anti-c22-3, c33C (ELISA 2), and RIBA 2. Several histopathologic patterns were found in 33 liver samples from HCV-positive individuals: cirrhosis (n = 3), chronic active hepatitis (n = 14), chronic persistent hepatitis (n = 2), isolated hemosiderosis (n = 5), reactive hepatitis (n = 6), and others (n = 3). There was a positive correlation between time from the first aminotransferase peak and histologic damage (P = 0.015). However, the severity of liver disease did not correlate with the intensity of RIBA 2 positivity, mean levels or pattern of aminotransferases elevation, or markers of past hepatitis B virus infection. Moreover, aminotransferases were persistently normal in three patients with severe liver disease and were elevated in 10 patients with only mild changes. In 19 biopsied patients, the presence of plasma HCV RNA was examined by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which was positive in 15 of the 19 biopsy specimens. The ability of PCR positivity to predict the histologic severity of the disease was insufficient: four patients with minor liver damage had positive PCR and two patients with significant liver damage had negative PCR. No further correlations of PCR positivity were found with the other biochemical or immunologic markers of HCV infection.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Liver disease patterns in hemodialysis patients with antibodies to hepatitis C virus. 750 4

To determine the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in homosexuals with chronic hepatitis, we tested for anti-HCV antibodies 113 (47 anti-HIV positive) French non-drug-addicted homosexual men admitted for chronic viral hepatitis. Anti-HCV were detected with second- and third-generation ELISAs (ELISA2 and ELISA3) and RIBAs (RIBA2 and RIBA3). Chronic hepatitis was related to non-A, non-B infection in four, to hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection in five and to hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in 104 patients. Anti-HCV positivity was found in 50.4% and 12.4% of the 113 patients, with ELISA2 and ELISA3, respectively. Positivity with RIBA2 and RIBA3 was found in only six of the 57 ELISA2 positive patients (all six were ELISA3 positive). The high prevalence of positivity with ELISA2 not confirmed by RIBA2 or RIBA3 suggests false-positive results. ELISA2 positive results were more frequent with frozen serum samples than with fresh serum samples (62% vs 23.5%, p = 0.0003). However, even with fresh serum, ELISA2-positive RIBA-negative results remained frequent in anti-HIV positive patients. ELISA3 seems to give more specific results. We conclude that the prevalence of HCV infection, as assessed with RIBA, was 5.3% among French homosexual men with chronic hepatitis (3.8% after exclusion of transfused patients). This low prevalence suggests that homosexual transmission of HCV is relatively uncommon.
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PMID:Hepatitis C virus infection in anti-HIV positive and negative French homosexual men with chronic hepatitis: comparison of second- and third-generation anti-HCV testing. 750 47


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