[Ultrasound in the diagnostics of fatty liver in obesity].

Chronic diffuse liver diseases produce a characteristic ultrasound image called bright liver. On the basis of liver attenuation, two major appearances can be observed: low and high attenuation types. It is proved that high attenuation is associated with fatty liver and subcutaneous fat thickness correlates with attenuation.

[The role and possibilities of natural interferon treatment in chronic hepatitis C: experience with natural interferon treatment for patients barred from combined antiviral therapy because of the STOP rule].

Unlabelled: The first choice, and the most efficient therapy for chronic hepatitis C is the pegylated interferon + ribavirin treatment. The introduction and application of the STOP rule (pegylated interferon + ribavirin treatment should be stopped in cases without sufficient virological answer for the therapy at the 12th or 24th week of the treatment) is motivated by the very high cost of this treatment.

Aims: The greatest problem of the application of the STOP rule is that these patients are not coming in for the proven advantages of one-year interferon treatment (arrest or decrease the inflammation, decrease or prevent the progression to liver cirrhosis, decrease probability or prevent the development of hepatocellular carcinoma), which were observed almost in virologically slow-, partial-, or non-responder patients who received one-year interferon therapy.

[Side effect of pegylated-interferon treatment in chronic C hepatitis: agranulocytosis].

Chronic C hepatitis is a global health problem. Its treatment is still unresolved. Pegylated interferon means substantive breakthrough in therapy.

Correlation of ultrasound attenuation and histopathological parameters of the liver in chronic diffuse liver diseases.

Objective: In patients with chronic diffuse liver diseases two characteristic ultrasound patterns of bright liver, the low (DI) and the high (DII) attenuation types, are seen. Correlation was studied between liver attenuation and histopathological analysis of biopsy specimens of the same patients.

Methods: Ultrasound attenuation of the liver was measured quantitatively using a homogeneous tissue-equivalent reference phantom.

[Examination of hepatitis c virus antibody seropositive blood donors and their relatives].

Introduction: 239 anti-HCV seropositive blood donors (132 male, 107 female, age: 19-61, mean: 40.59 y.) and 174 family members of them (74 male, 100 female, age: 4-65, mean: 23.

[Thyroid dysfunctions in patients with viral hepatitis treated with interferon-alpha].

Introduction: Many studies have explored that thyroid dysfunctions can be induced by cytokine therapy. Most observations were collected in connection with the treatment of viral hepatitis with interferon-alpha.

Aim And Methods: Frequency and types of thyroid dysfunction developed during and after recombinant interferon-alpha treatment were studied in 138 patients with viral hepatitis C or B.

Serum anti-cholesterol antibodies in chronic hepatitis-C patients during IFN-alpha-2b treatment.

Previously we detected more than 3 times higher anti-cholesterol antibody (ACHA) levels in HIV positive patients compared to healthy individuals, however, this level significantly decreased during highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART). In our present study we examined whether these findings could also be detected in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). We calculated the correlation between the ACHA levels and the C5b-9 complement activation product.

The Effect Of Long Term and High Dose Interferon Treatment In Chronic Hepatitis C.

The results of 43 interferon treatments of 35 patients (23 male, 12 female) are reported. The duration of the treatment was 6-18 months, the dose of interferon was 3x3-5 MU weekly. Complete response (HCV RNA became negative) was found in 11, relapse was observed in 3 patients.