Mutations in the basal core promoter and precore/core gene of hepatitis B virus in patients with chronic active but not acute hepatitis B.

Around 5-10% of adults infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) develop a chronic liver disease such as chronic active hepatitis (CAH), and it is unclear whether the clinical outcome depends solely on the immune response or whether viral factors also play a role. In this study, a search was therefore made for nucleotide mutations in the basic core promoter (BCP) and amino-acid substitutions in the precore/core region of HBV infecting patients with CAH or with acute hepatitis. The nucleotide sequences of the BCP and of the precore/core region were determined in virus from ten patients with CAH and ten with acute hepatitis.

Does hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype influence the clinical outcome of HBV infection?

Between 5 and 10% of adults infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) develop a chronic infection lasting longer than 6 months, which may lead to advanced liver disease. HBV can be classified into six genotypic families: A, B, C, D, E and F, but only genotypes A and D are significantly represented in western Europe, where they account for some 90% of cases of infection with HBV. In the present study, we investigated a possible association between HBV genotype A or D and clinical outcome of the infection.

Comparison of a competitive combined reverse transcription-PCR assay with a branched-DNA assay for hepatitis C virus RNA quantitation.

We have developed a sensitive and reproducible one-step competitive reverse transcriptase (RT) PCR assay, which allows hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA quantitation in plasma over a broad range of values. The RNA samples and a constant amount of an internal standard were reverse transcribed and coamplified with the same primers in the same tube. A standard curve was obtained from an additional series of tubes containing both the internal standard and known amounts of a wild-type HCV RNA transcript, thus eliminating the need for titrating samples with the competitor.

[Inflammatory myopathy: unusual presentation of a case of Wegener disease].

The case is presented of a 66-year-old man who developed an inflammatory myopathy picture predominantly consisting in leg weakness. Wegener's granulomatosis was diagnosed on the basis of suggestive thoracic imaging, microhematuria and necrotizing arteritis with granulomas in muscular biopsy. An increasing titer of anti-neutrophilic cytoplasm auto-antibodies (ANCA) confirmed the diagnosis.