Publications by authors named "Kathy J Hurlburt"
Background & Aims: The Alaska Native population is one of few populations in the world with a high prevalence of autoimmune hepatitis. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency and HLA and clinical associations of autoantibodies in Alaska Native people with autoimmune hepatitis.
Methods: Alaska Native individuals with autoimmune hepatitis were recruited in clinics conducted statewide.
Background: In autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) patients treated with azathioprine, the utility of measuring thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) and azathioprine metabolites has been limited.
Objective: To evaluate the association between TPMT genotype and enzyme activity, and the impact of TPMT enzyme activity on levels of azathioprine metabolites and leukopenia to assess the clinical utility of monitoring azathioprine metabolites in Alaska Native and other non-Caucasian AIH patients.
Methods: Individuals with AIH were recruited at the Alaska Native Medical Center (Alaska, USA) and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (Texas, USA).
Background: The highest incidence of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-associated vasculitis in the world has been reported in Alaska Natives. We examined the incidence of HBV-associated vasculitis before and after mass HBV vaccine immunization and the association between HBV genotype and vasculitis in a population-based cohort study in Alaska natives chronically infected with HBV.
Methods: Genotyping was performed in vasculitis cases and 644 hepatitis B-positive controls without vasculitis using polymerase chain reaction and sequencing of the S gene.
Background: The development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has been associated with specific HBV genotypes and the presence of specific mutations.
Methods: From a cohort of Alaska Native people with chronic HBV infection, we genotyped 47 patients with HCC and 1129 patients without HCC, and we tested patients with HCC and control patients for mutations in the basal core promoter and precore regions.
Results: Genotype F was found in 68% of patients with HCC, versus 18% of those without HCC (P<.
Article Synopsis
- - The study aimed to investigate the prevalence of autoimmune liver diseases, specifically in Alaska natives, due to a lack of information in nonwhite populations.
- - Researchers reviewed clinical records from 1984 to 2000, identifying cases of autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), and related conditions, finding 77 patients with possible autoimmune liver disease.
- - The results indicated a prevalence of 42.9 cases of AIH and 16 cases of PBC per 100,000 Alaska natives, showing that these rates are similar to those found in other populations.