Antinuclear antibodies with the homogeneous pattern (ANA-H) and smooth muscle antibodies with antiactin specificity (SMA-AA) are regarded as the serum markers of type-1 autoimmune chronic hepatitis. Their diagnostic relevance, however, has been questioned recently after the detection of signs of hepatitis C virus infection in autoimmune chronic hepatitis patients. To further evaluate this point...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Decreased tear volume in patients with chronic hepatitis C has been reported in the literature. Lactoferrin is abundantly present in human tears, the main source of which is the acini of the lacrimal glands. In this study tear lactoferrin levels were measured to investigate the dry eye condition of patients with chronic hepatitis C. METHODS Lactoferrin in tears/fluid was measu...

Acute hepatitis A superimposed on chronic liver disease (CLD) has been associated with severe or fulminant hepatitis. An open, multicenter study was performed to compare the safety and immunogenicity of an inactivated hepatitis A vaccine in patients with CLD with that in healthy subjects. A secondary objective was to compare the safety of the hepatitis A vaccine with that of a commercial hepati...

Correspondence to: Dr P Ferenci, Clinic of Internal Medicine IV, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Vienna, Wahringer Gurtel 18-20, A-1090 Wien, Austria. Abstract Interferon is currently considered to be the only accepted effective treatment for chronic viral hepatitis. A history of the treatment of chronic hepatitis B and C before the use of interferon is presented he...

BACKGROUND A national survey for chronic hepatitis C has not been performed in Denmark and the prevalence is unknown. Our aim was to estimate the prevalence of chronic hepatitis C from public registers and the proportion of these patients who received specialized healthcare. METHODS Patients with a diagnosis of chronic hepatitis C were identified from four national registers: a laboratory reg...

Interferon is currently considered to be the only accepted effective treatment for chronic viral hepatitis. A history of the treatment of chronic hepatitis B and C before the use of interferon is presented here. Hepatitis B virus does not seem to be directly cytopathic and the disease is known to be modulated largely by the host's immune response. Experience with immunosuppressant and immunosti...

the cross-border symposium on hepatitis c, entitled “why treating now?” was held on 15th may 2013 during the 5th international tehran hepatitis congress. the present report summarizing communicated insights during this symposium is intended to help health care providers to make well-informed decisions when treating patients with chronic hepatitis c (chc). since today’s evolving science of hepat...

Acute hepatitis B is a self limiting disease that resolves spontaneously in 95% of patients who acquire the infection in adulthood. Patients with acute hepatitis B, however, usually take between four and 12 weeks to recover; the personal, social, and sanitary costs associated with this are high. Also, 5-10% of patients with acute hepatitis B go on to develop chronic liver disease. Hepatitis C, ...

Purpose. Helicobacter pylori is a common gastric disease-inducing pathogen. Although an increasing number of recent studies have shown that H. pylori is a risk factor for liver disease, the potential association between H. pylori infection and chronic hepatitis C still remains controversial. The aim of our meta-analysis was to evaluate a potential association between H. pylori infection and chr...