Concentrated samples of saliva, urine, and seminal fluid from 23 men with chronic liver disease who were positive for hepatitis B e antigen were examined for the presence of hepatitis B virus deoxyribonucleic acid (HBV-DNA) by molecular hybridisation. HBV-DNA was detected in saliva from 15 of 17 men (88%), urine from 12 of 22 men (55%), and seminal fluid from 13 of 21 men (62%). The presence of...

A sensitive enzyme immunoassay (EIA) specific for hepatitis B virus core antigen (HBcAg) and hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) was developed. We designated the precore/core gene products as hepatitis B virus (HBV) core-related antigens (HBcrAg). In order to detect HBcrAg even in anti-HBc/e antibody-positive specimens, the specimens were pretreated in detergents. The antibodies are inactivated by th...

The competence of non-hepatocytes to support hepatitis B virus (HBV) gene expression and replication was studied by transient transfection of various human cell lines with a head-to-tail dimer of HBV DNA. Independent of their neuroectodermal, mesenchymal or epithelial origin, all non-hepatocyte cell lines tested synthesized and secreted hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and hepatitis B core/e...

conclusions this study showed a low rate of isolated anti-hbc and occult hbv infection in hd patients. it can be due to improvement of people’s knowledge about hbv transmission routes, hbv vaccination of hd patients and regular surveillance of hbv infection. results a hundredpatients with a mean age of 58.5 ± 16.1 years were enrolled in this study. in total, 56.7% were male and 43.3% female. an...

Background: We explored the effect of vitamin D receptor gene (VDR) polymorphisms in response to PEG-IFN treatment in Egyptian chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. Methods: Two hundred hepatitis B virus (HBV) patients (42.3±10.7 years) on PEG-IFN α-2a (180 μg /kg for 48 weeks) and one hundred control subjects (37.3 ±12 years) were enrolled in the study. Vitamin D levels a...

Objective(s) The aim of this study was to characterize the hepatitis B virus surface protein genotypes and sequence variations among hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) positive chronic patients in Hormozgan province, south of Iran. Materials and Methods A total of 8 patients enrolled in this study. The surface gene was amplified and directly sequenced. Genotypes and nucleotide/amino a...

conclusions elevated aminotransferases in chb patients are most commonly caused by exacerbation of chb. nevertheless, when hbv dna is not elevated, other reasons should be excluded. amongst others, superinfection with another hepatotropic virus can be the reason for decompensation of chronic hepatitis b. this case report describes an asymptomatic hev superinfection followed by a flare in hbv re...

conclusions the main and frequent hbv genotype among azerbaijani patients with chronic hepatitis b virus infection was genotype d followed by genotype a. results the mean age of patients was 35.9 ± 11.7 years (19-66). of 103 patients, 72 (69.9%) were male. in the present study, the predominant hbv genotype was d (93.2%) followed by genotype a (5.8%) and concurrent infection with a and d genotyp...

background: more than 350 million people are chronic carriers of hepatitis b virus (hbv) and because of the high hbv-related morbidity and mortality, the global disease burden of hbv is substantial. in patients with hbeag–negative chronic hepatitis b (chb) with serum alanine aminotransferase (alt) levels, 1-2 × upper limit of normal (uln) and hbv dna load of 10000 to 100000 copies/ml, liver bio...

background hepatitis b virus (hbv) infection is a major public health problem that affects billions of people worldwide. the lack of information on hbv prevalence among the general population is an obstacle to formulate effective policies to reduce the burden of viral hepatitis. objectives this population based serological survey was conducted in kermanshah province to determine the local preva...