Background/aims: Hepatitis C virus infection is an important disease with a high chronicity rate (50-80%), leading to end-stage liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. In this study, the characteristic histological findings were compared with the epidemiological features of hepatitis C virus infection in liver biopsy material.
Methodology: Liver biopsies were studied from 106 patients (60 males, 46 females, aged 11-81 years, mean: 43) found positive for hepatitis C antibody by a second-generation ELISA method. The histological evaluation was based upon the Desmet classification of chronic hepatitis. Statistical analysis involved the chi 2 test.
Results: Minimal, mild chronic, and moderate chronic hepatitis were manifest in 13%, 65% and 22% of the cases, while fibrosis 0/1, fibrosis 2, fibrosis 3 and cirrhosis (fibrosis 4) occurred in 42%, 13%, 35% and 10%, respectively. Regarding the histological features of chronic hepatitis C, the frequency of steatosis, lymphoid follicles and/or aggregates and bile duct lesions showed an increase parallel with the hepatitis grade, the changes being more pronounced in moderate chronic hepatitis.
Conclusions: Most chronic hepatitis C patients displayed mild histological lesions with stage 1 fibrosis. Lymphoid follicles and/or aggregates, bile duct damage and steatosis are important diagnostic features that show strong correlation with chronic hepatitis activity. The occurrence of stage 3/4 fibrosis in mild chronic hepatitis alerts the hepatologists for the need of liver biopsy.
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Medicine (Baltimore)
January 2025
Department of Clinical Immunology, Nanjing Kingmed Clinical Laboratory, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Rationale: Mass vaccination, low cost of immunoglobulins, and new drugs led to the emergence of new, unusual patterns of hepatitis B serum markers. This study reported a rare case of hepatitis B with all 5 positive serum markers, including HBsAg, HBsAb, HBeAg, HBeAb, and HBcAb.
Patient Concerns: A 30-year-old female patient was admitted due to abnormal liver function.
Medicine (Baltimore)
January 2025
Jumei Doctor Group Medical (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd, Shenzhen, China.
Rationale: Current research on antiviral treatment in children is relatively limited, especially in children under 1 year old.
Patient Concerns: Liu XX, an 8-month-old infant (case number: 3001120473), presented to the hospital in August 2016 with a chief complaint of being "hepatitis B surface antigen positive for 8 months and experiencing abnormal liver function for 5 months."
Diagnoses: The patient was diagnosed as chronic hepatitis B cirrhosis (G3S3-4) with active compensatory phase.
Viral Immunol
January 2025
Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Burapha University, Muang, Thailand.
Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection poses a major health risk worldwide, with patients susceptible to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. This study focuses on the development of effective therapeutic strategies for HCV infection through the investigation of immunogenic properties of a DNA construct based on the NS3/4A gene of HCV genotype (g)3a. Gene expression of the mutagenized (mut) NS3/4A target genes was assessed through reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western blot analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCureus
December 2024
Hematology and Oncology, Roger Williams Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Providence, USA.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common forms of primary liver cancer worldwide. Herein, we present a review article that provides a broad overview of the current landscape of HCC, including the etiology, potential risk factors, and molecular pathways that can serve as potential therapeutic targets. The risk factors tend to vary depending on the geographic distribution; hepatitis B-induced cirrhosis and HCC occur more frequently in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, whereas metabolic disorders are the culprits in Western Europe and the Americas.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMetabol Open
March 2025
Hepatogastroenterology and Infectious Diseases Department, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
Background: Tissue damage by viral hepatitis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Oxidation reactions and reactive oxygen species (ROS) transform proteins and lipids in plasma low-density lipoproteins (LDL) into the abnormal oxidized LDL (ox-LDL). Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection induces oxidative/nitrosative stress from multiple sources, including the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), the mitochondrial electron transport chain, hepatocyte NAD(P)H oxidases (NOX enzymes), and inflammation.
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