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)

Two hundred ninety patients (203 men, 87 women), age 7 to 74 years (mean: 39.1 years), with chronic hepatitis B virus infection, were prospectively followed for a period of 1 to 4 years to determine the value of alpha-fetoprotein monitoring in the early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma. At presentation, 66% of the patients were asymptomatic, 19% had chronic hepatitis and 15% had established cirrhosis. Forty-four (15%) patients had elevated alpha-fetoprotein levels on one or more occasions during the study period. Twenty patients with normal alpha-fetoprotein levels at presentation developed elevated alpha-fetoprotein levels during the course of follow-up, whereas 24 patients had elevated alpha-fetoprotein levels at presentation. Six (14%) of these 44 patients (five men and one woman), age 23 to 66 years, had persistent or progressive increase in alpha-fetoprotein levels and were confirmed to have hepatocellular carcinoma. In four patients, the alpha-fetoprotein levels were below 500 ng per ml at the time of tumor localization. Only three patients had resectable tumors. All six patients would have been missed if alpha-fetoprotein screening was restricted to men above the age of 40 with cirrhosis and anti-HBe. Of the remaining 38 patients, elevation in alpha-fetoprotein levels in 18 patients was associated with exacerbations of the underlying liver disease and/or significant changes in level of hepatitis B virus replication, but in 20 patients, no apparent cause could be identified. The elevation in AFP levels exceeded 200 ng per ml in 26% and persisted beyond 6 months in 15% of these patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:alpha-Fetoprotein monitoring in Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection: role in the early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma. 247 84

Although hepatitis B infection is endemic in southern Africa, a changing epidemiology of the disease has recently been documented in the region. The authors surveyed migrant southern African male mineworkers during 1986 to establish the prevalence of chronic hepatitis B and D (delta) infection in their areas of origin. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was tested in 29,312 adult male mineworkers from 18 geographic regions, encompassing the diverse tribal and linguistic groups in the region, as well as in expatriate mineworkers from neighboring southern African countries. The same cohort was also tested for antibody to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Selected hepatitis B carriers were also tested for hepatitis B virus deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), antibody to hepatitis D (anti-HD), and alpha-fetoprotein. The overall prevalence of HBsAg in this survey was 9.9%. However, the prevalence varied from 5.5% to 14% in different ethnic groups. A minority of carriers (4.9%) had replicative hepatitis B infection and were hepatitis B virus DNA-positive. Only 0.6% of tested carriers were anti-HD-positive. Alpha-fetoprotein determinations were abnormal in 1.2% of hepatitis B-positive men. These data show that although chronic hepatitis B infection remains widespread in southern Africa, carrier rates vary significantly from region to region. In contrast, hepatitis D co-infection remains extremely uncommon. These baseline seroprevalence data also establish that HIV infection was, in 1986, a rare infection in the indigenous population of South Africa.
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PMID:Regional prevalence of hepatitis B, delta, and human immunodeficiency virus infection in southern Africa: a large population survey. 246 88

Serum samples from 20 patients with acute exacerbation of chronic hepatitis due to hepatitis B virus and 20 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma arising from B viral cirrhosis with elevated levels of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) were analyzed by affinity column chromatography for concanavalin A binding. Serum AFP was tested at regular intervals in all of these patients. Acute exacerbation was defined as elevation of serum transaminase greater than 300 IU/L in patients with chronic hepatitis B. In hepatocellular carcinoma, serum AFP levels fluctuated but remained higher than 92 ng/ml, whereas, in acute exacerbation of chronic hepatitis B, serum AFP levels returned to normal within 3-12 months of follow-up. The results of concanavalin A-binding assay revealed that AFP from both these groups had a high affinity for concanavalin A, and this assay could not be used to discriminate between the two conditions.
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PMID:Alpha-fetoprotein and its concanavalin A affinity in acute exacerbation of chronic hepatitis B. 246 55

Recombinant human interferon alpha 2a as well as natural human interferons alpha and beta significantly suppressed the production of hepatitis B surface antigen by PLC/PRF/5 cells (which have been established from a human primary hepatocellular carcinoma and proven to carry the hepatitis B virus DNA) and inhibited proliferation of these cells in vitro. However, the production of alpha-fetoprotein by PLC/PRF/5 cells was less significantly affected by any of the interferons. These results suggest that these interferons not only suppress cellular proliferation but also selectively inhibit the action of the HBV gene which is persistently present in these cells.
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PMID:Suppression of HBsAg production in PLC/PRF/5 human hepatoma cell line by interferons. 246 37

An abnormal serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level (greater than 10 mg/l) was found in 78% of 104 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), 8% of 12 asymptomatic hepatitis B surface antigen carriers, 5% of 77 patients with chronic hepatitis, and 9% of 55 cirrhotic patients without complications. It was also discovered in 72% of 25 cirrhotic patients complicated with bacterial infections, gastrointestinal bleeding, hepatic encephalopathy, or massive ascites, 67% of nine common bile duct stone patients, and 79% of 14 patients with malignancies other than HCC. A dramatic decrease in serum CRP levels was found in two HCC patients receiving a successful surgical tumor resection, four cirrhotic patients recovering from complications, and all six patients with common bile duct stones and cholangitis controlled by antibiotics, but not in untreated HCC or other malignancy patients. Serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels correlated poorly with CRP levels. A combination of these two serum markers identified 94% of 104 patients with HCC. Since serum CRP levels were also abnormal in 57% of 14 patients with resectable HCC (less than or equal to 5 cm), in conjunction with AFP, it may be useful in the diagnosis of HCC or other malignancies.
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PMID:Serum C-reactive protein as a serum marker for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. 246 49

Various coefficients in radioimmunoassays are expressed in a series of equations. These equations provide an approach to estimating the number of epitopes on a multivalent antigen as well as a macromolecular topogram. In this paper, pig insulin (Ins), horse myoglobin (Mb), human serum albumin (HSA), human alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and adr-hepatitis B type virus surface antigen (HBsAg) were chosen as objects of study. The number of epitopes was calculated to be Ins = 2, Mb = 5, HSA = 16, AFP = 6, HBsAg = 146. These epitope numbers, calculated by equations, were very similar to those previously identified experimentally. This suggests that our theoretical approach may be useful in predicting the number of epitopes on other macromolecules of biological and clinical interest.
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PMID:A novel approach to experimentally estimating the number of reactive epitopes on multivalent antigens. 246 45

By means of staphylocoagulase, plasma des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin (DCP) was measured in 255 subjects. Of these, 59 were healthy controls, 100 had primary hepatocellular carcinoma (PHC), 33 had cirrhosis of the liver, 16 had hepatitis, 11 had metastatic carcinoma of the liver (MCL), and 36 subjects had previously been treated with anti-vitamin K drugs. The mean plasma DCP level in the healthy subjects was 3.02 VGH U/l. Of PHC patients 80% had DCP levels greater than 6 VGH U/l, which we regarded as probably abnormal. None of the patients with benign liver diseases (cirrhosis of liver or hepatitis) had DCP greater than 10 VGH U/l. Of the patients with MCL 54.54% had DCP greater than 6 VGH U/l. In our study DCP was found to be as sensitive a tumor marker as alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in the diagnosis of PHC and was better in distinguishing PHC from benign liver disease. Of PHC patients 92% had at least one of the two tumor markers. Simultaneous determination of DCP and AFP should be applied in mass survey programs for detecting PHC, especially in countries with a high prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection.
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PMID:Application of des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin as a complementary tumor marker with alpha-fetoprotein in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. 246 47

In patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, early diagnosis offers the only hope for resection and cure. Data from Asia, where it is closely associated with viral hepatitis, indicate that serum alpha-fetoprotein assay and abdominal ultrasonography are the most effective and feasible screening tests. These data may not be applicable in America, where most patients at risk for hepatocellular carcinoma have underlying alcoholic cirrhosis. Also, it is unclear whether resecting "curable" lesions prolongs survival, particularly in patients with cirrhosis. Screening trials are indicated to answer these questions. Preventing risk factors, however, especially hepatitis B viral disease, is of paramount importance throughout the world.
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PMID:Screening for hepatocellular carcinoma. Review and perspective. 247 Feb 5

Hepatocellular carcinoma and cirrhosis frequently coexist. In populations with a low incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma, the tumor often arises as a complication of long-standing symptomatic cirrhosis, which may be micronodular or macronodular and which is usually alcoholic in origin, and cirrhosis per se is the major etiologic association of the tumor. The relation between these two pathologic conditions in populations with a high incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma has not hitherto been analyzed. In this study the association was examined in 463 southern African black men with hepatocellular carcinoma. Cirrhosis, almost always macronodular and rarely showing features of alcholic toxicity, was present in 63.1% of the patients. No differences were found in the age structure, clinical features, hepatic function, serum alpha-fetoprotein concentrations, or hepatitis B virus status between patients with hepatocellular carcinoma with and without cirrhosis. Patients with cirrhosis survived slightly longer, but the difference was not biologically significant. It is concluded that the relation between hepatocellular carcinoma and cirrhosis in southern African blacks differs substantially from that in low incidence regions of the tumor.
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PMID:Hepatocellular carcinoma with and without cirrhosis. A comparison in southern African blacks. 247 Jun 34

Using chromatography on diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) cellulose, we measured biliary alkaline phosphatase (BALP; EC 3.1.3.1) activities in sera from 182 patients, most with hepatobiliary disorders but some with non-hepatobiliary diseases. Relative BALP activities were extremely low in otherwise healthy carriers of hepatitis B virus (mean: 5.4 U/L) and in patients with non-hepatobiliary diseases (mean: 5.3 U/L). Although BALP activities were detectable in some cases of liver cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis, these values were generally low (respective means: 12.6 and 12.0 U/L). High BALP activities were detected in patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma, secondary metastatic liver tumors, and obstructive jaundice: mean values were 27.2, 37.2, and 73.6 U/L, respectively. There was no correlation between BALP activity and bilirubin concentration in patients with obstructive jaundice, nor between BALP activities in obstructive jaundice caused by stones and in those caused by extrahepatic tumor. Some patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma had high BALP but low alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) values, some others the reverse. Based on AFP alone, the sensitivity for detecting hepatocellular carcinoma was 79%; adding BALP in parallel improved the sensitivity to 97%. We found minicolumn chromatography on DEAE-cellulose useful for determining BALP activity in hepatobiliary diseases.
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PMID:Biliary alkaline phosphatase measured by mini-column chromatography on DEAE-cellulose: application to detection of hepatobiliary diseases. 247 88


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