Non-organ-specific autoantibodies in chronic hepatitis C patients: association with histological activity and fibrosis.

Background: Non-organ-specific autoantibodies (NOSAs) are frequently found in the sera of patients with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection. However, no conclusive answers have been produced concerning the clinical relevance of these antibodies.

Aim: To determine whether a relationship might exist between the presence of NOSA and the severity of liver disease in chronic hepatitis C.

[Inflammatory colitis and chronic granulomatous disease, a steroid-dependent case report].

Chronic granulomatous disease may lead to inflammatory bowel disease with endoscopic and histological aspects similar to that observed in patients with Crohn's disease. Inflammatory symptoms are generally controlled by steroids, but resistant forms may need total colectomy. Therapeutic strategy in steroid-dependent cases is not yet established.

Serum laminin and type IV collagen are accurate markers of histologically severe alcoholic hepatitis in patients with cirrhosis.

Background/aims: Severe alcoholic hepatitis occurs mainly in patients with cirrhosis, and has a high death rate. Corticosteroid therapy has been particularly advocated as reducing mortality in patients with severe histologic lesions. However, identification of these patients is difficult, requiring transvenous liver biopsy.

[Herpetic esophagitis in human immunodeficiency virus non infected patients].

We report five cases of herpetic esophagitis in human immunodeficiency virus non-infected patients. Herpetic esophagitis is a frequent infection in immunocompromised patients. However, sixty four cases of herpetic esophagitis have been reported in immunocompetent patients.