BACKGROUND The progression of liver disease in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is influenced by host and viral factors. Distinct clinical outcomes in patients infected with different HCV genotypes have been described in the literature. However, the association between specific HCV genotype and clinical outcome remains unclear. We set out to study the natural history of H...

Mixed cryoglobulinemia is the most common extrahepatic disease manifestation of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, where immunoglobulins precipitate at low temperatures and cause symptoms such as vasculitis, glomerulonephritis and arthralgia. HCV-associated cryoglobulinemia is also strongly linked with the development of B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Abnormal B cell function in HCV infec...

Concentrations of fibronectin, immunoglobulins G, M, and A, and C3 and C4 components of complement, and other plasma proteins were determined in synovial fluids from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other diseases (non-RA). Fibronectin concentrations were two to three times greater in all synovial fluids than in plasma, and RA synovial fluids had a significantly higher mean concentra...

BACKGROUND The clinical manifestations of Q fever endocarditis are protean in nature. Mixed cryoglobulinemia type II is rarely a facet of the presenting clinical manifestations of Q fever endocarditis. CASE PRESENTATION We report a case of a 65-year-old pensioner with such an association and review the literature. As transesophageal echocardiograms are usually normal and blood cultures are us...

INTRODUCTION Type II mixed cryoglobulin syndrome is a systematic vasculitis mainly linked to immune complex deposition in several organs and to hepatitis C virus infection. Therapeutic strategies can target either the viral trigger hepatitis C virus if present, or pathogenic events downstream the triggering infection, e.g, the proliferation B-cells directly. Antiviral therapy should be consider...

A 59-year-old white male was found to have mild proteinuria and renal insufficiency during a life insurance test in 2003. His serum creatinine has been stable at 1.6mg/dl since then. His 24 h urine protein was 720mg in 2003 and 861mg in 2006. Urinalysis showed 1þ protein with inactive sediment. His ANA, hepatitis B surface antigen, hepatitis C antibody and serum cryoglobulin were all negative. ...

Engagement of immunoglobulin-binding receptors (FcgammaR) on leukocytes and other cell types is one means by which immunoglobulins and immune complexes activate effector cells. One of these FcgammaRs, FcgammaRIIb, is thought to contribute to protection from autoimmune disease by down-regulation of B-cell responsiveness and myeloid cell activation. We assessed the role of FcgammaRIIb in a mouse ...

The 2.6 A (1 A=0.1 nm) resolution structure has been determined for the glycosylated Fab (fragment antigen binding) of an IgM (Yvo) obtained from a subject with Waldenström's macroglobulinaemia. Dynamic light scattering was used to estimate the gel point and monitor the formation of an ordered hydroscopic gel of Yvo IgM upon cooling. If a cryoglobulin forms gels in peripheral tissues and organs...

OBJECTIVE To describe a possible association between Graves' disease and nephrotic syndrome secondary to minimal change renal disease and to review the literature related to renal diseases in patients with Graves' disease. METHODS The clinical, laboratory, and renal biopsy findings in a patient with Graves' disease and minimal change renal disease are discussed. In addition, the pertinent Eng...

BACKGROUND The hepatitis C virus is a major cause of hepatocellular carcinoma. Extrahepatic manifestations of hepatitis C include mixed cryoglobulinemia which can result in ischemic damage to multiple organs. The management of these sequelae in posthepatectomy patients is unclear. CASE REPORT A 49-year-old male with hepatitis C was found to have a 4 cm hepatocellular carcinoma on surveillance...