OBJECTIVE In patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, it is not known whether altered serum iron markers are directly because of the infection or the associated liver injury. We determined the serum iron status of patients with chronic HBV infection, and investigated whether it is HBV infection or HBV-related liver injury that likely causes abnormal serum iron markers in chronic...

BACKGROUND Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major public health problem in Brazil. Several risk factors are involved in HBV infection and their identification by a rational and essential approach is required to prevent the transmission of this infection in Brazil. OBJECTIVES To evaluate risk factors associated with HBV infection in South Brazil. METHODS A total of 260 patients with HB...

Serologic assays for HBV are the mainstay diagnostic tools for HBV infection. However, the advent of molecular biology-based techniques has added a new dimension to the diagnosis and treatment of patients with chronic HBV infection. Over the past decade, improvements in molecular technology, permitting detection of as few as 10 copies/mL of HBV DNA in serum have led to redefinitions of chronic ...

UNLABELLED T-cell immunity to hepatitis B virus (HBV) is involved in both viral clearance and the pathogenesis of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma following chronic HBV infection. It is therefore of great interest to analyze whether genetic polymorphism of genes involved in the immune response may determine the outcomes of chronic HBV infection. Here we report that CD24 polymorphisms affe...

Host gene variants may influence the natural history of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system, the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in humans, is one of the most important host factors that are correlated with the clinical course of HBV infection. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have shown that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) near certa...

We greatly enjoyed reading the excellent review by Hollinger and colleagues on occult hepatitis B infection in chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients (1). As Hollinger et al. mentioned in their review, few studies have shown the prevalence of occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in HD patients. Due to the parenteral transmission of HBV, HD patients are at high risk of acquiring this virus becau...

While most adults are able to clear acute hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, chronic HBV infection is recalcitrant to current therapy because of the persistence of covalently closed circular DNA in the nucleus. Complete clearance of the virus in these patients is rare, and long-term therapy with interferon and/or nucleoside analogues may be required in an attempt to suppress viral replication a...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and the HBV surface (S) gene variants circulating in the South African population after nearly two decades of universal hepatitis B vaccination. STUDY DESIGN From a previous serosurvey, 201 serum samples with serological evidence of exposure to HBV were identified and t...

Hepatitis B viral infection is usually a self-limiting disease in immunocompetent individuals. Chronic infection can be seen in up to 5% of infected patients. Renal manifestations of chronic HBV infection are usually glomerular. We describe here an uncommon presentation of a patient with chronic HBV infection with very high viral load and rapidly progressive renal failure. Renal biopsy showed f...

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection constitutes one of the major global public health problems. Not only India and Nepal, East Asia is fighting with the same. About 30 percent of the world's population has serological evidence of current or past infection with HBV. By virtue of its different stage of presentation in different age groups of patients and the rapid mutation in the virus, the treatme...