BACKGROUND Increased hepatic iron is assumed to potentiate progression towards liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. In this study we have evaluated the potentiating effect of marked hepatic iron overload and chronic HCV infection on hepatic fibrosis in thalassemic patients. METHODS Liver biopsies of one group of patients with beta thalassemia major and chronic HCV infe...

Extrahepatic manifestations are frequently encountered among patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Many of these manifestations are autoimmune disorders, with added mortality and morbidity due to involvement of multiple organ systems. Symptoms of HCV infection and rheumatic diseases may be similar and include arthralgia, myalgia, arthritis, and vasculitis. Also, serologic abn...

Cytokines and chemokines play an important role in defense against viral infection and modulating immune response. However, expression prolife of serum cytokines and chemokines, which were associated with the outcome of patients in response to anti-HCV treatment have not been fully elucidated. The current study aimed to determine the expression pattern of cytokines and chemokines in chronic HCV...

BACKGROUND Before the introduction of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) rarely died of liver disease. In resource-rich countries, cART dramatically increased longevity. As patients survived longer, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection became a leading cause of death; however, because patients with AIDS continue to have 5-fold g...

The detection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in saliva was studied. Twenty-three subjects with chronic HCV infection and 1 subject with acute HCV infection were enrolled in a 21-day study. Roche COBAS Amplicor and Bayer VERSANT HCV RNA qualitative assays were used. For the 23 subjects with chronic HCV infection, 72% of 474 saliva samples were positive (or were imputed to be positive) for HCV RNA. S...

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is the most common cause of chronic liver disease in the western world. Despite extensive epidemiological data in adults, the exact number of children infected is still unknown, and little is known about the natural history of chronic HCV infection in childhood. The authors review studies focusing on HCV infection in children, and summarize the results, includi...

In most exposed individuals, hepatitis C virus (HCV) establishes a chronic infection; this long-term infection in turn contributes to the development of liver diseases such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The role of antibodies directed against HCV in disease progression is poorly understood. Neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) can prevent HCV infection in vitro and in animal models. Howe...

Chronic Hepatitis C infection is a global health problem. While primary infection is often inapparent, it becomes chronic in most cases. Chronic infection with Hepatitis C virus (HCV) frequently leads to liver cirrhosis or liver cancer. Consequently, HCV infection is one of the leading causes for liver transplantation in industrialized countries. Current treatment is not HCV specific and is onl...

BACKGROUND Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can affect multiple organ systems and cause a variety of extrahepatic manifestations (EMs). We sought to assess the constituent ratio of EMs in Chinese patients with chronic HCV infection and identify the clinical and biological factors associated with EM. METHODS The medical records of 297 patients with chronic HCV infection were analyzed ...