Increased Ribavirin Bioavailability Associated With Telaprevir Use in Hepatitis C Patients Treated With PEGylated -Interferon/Ribavirin/Telaprevir Triple Therapy
Conclusions: Our results indicated a reversible increase in RBV bioavailability after telaprevir exposure, which might be linked to the impairment of the GFR. This also suggests a RBV-telaprevir pharmacological interaction, a possible source of severe anemia observed under triple therapy. These results suggest that RBV pharmacological monitoring may be clinically relevant, especially in the context of first-generation HCV protease inhibitor-based therapy.,Background: Anemia is more frequent in patients receiving telaprevir with PEGylated interferon/ribavirin (PEG-IFN/RBV) than in those receiving PEG-IFN/RBV alone.,Objectiv...
Source: Hepatitis Monthly - August 31, 2015 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research
Development of an In-House TaqMan Real Time RT-PCR Assay to Quantify Hepatitis C Virus RNA in Serum and Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection
Conclusions: The quite sensitive in-house TaqMan real time RT-PCR assay was able to detect and quantify all four main HCV genotypes prevailing around all geographical regions of Iran.,Results: The lower limit detection of this in-house HCV real-time RT-PCR was determined as 100 RNA copies/mL. Inter- and intra-assay coefficient of variation (CV) of this in-house HCV real-time RT-PCR ranged from 0.9% to 1.8% and 1.76% to 3.94%, respectively. The viral load of the genotyped samples ranged from 2.0 × 106 ± 0.31 to 2.7 × 105 ± 0.46 copies/mL in serum samples and 5 × 102 ± 0.36 to 4.0 × 103 ± 0.51 copies/106 cells/mL of ...
Source: Hepatitis Monthly - August 30, 2015 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research
HCV dsRNA-Activated Macrophages Inhibit HCV Replication in Hepatocytes
Conclusions: Macrophages may play an important role in liver innate immunity against HCV replication through a type I IFN-dependent mechanism.,Background: Macrophages play critical roles in innate immune response in the liver. Whether macrophages participate in liver innate immunity against HCV replication is poorly understood,Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of macrophages in liver innate immunity against HCV replication.,Materials and Methods: Freshly isolated monocytes were purified from peripheral blood of healthy adult donors. Macrophages refer to 7-day-cultured monocytes in vitro. A hepat...
Source: Hepatitis Monthly - August 17, 2015 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research
Isolated Hepatic Basidiobolomycosis in a 2-Year-Old Girl: The First Case Report
Conclusions: This is the first case report of an isolated liver involvement of this fungal infection in a 2-year-old girl, who presented with a liver mass resembling a hepatic abscess.,Introduction: Gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis is an emerging infection, with fewer than 80 cases reported in the English literature.,Case Presentation: Also, a few cases of gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis, accompanied by liver involvement as part of a disseminated disease, have been reported. (Source: Hepatitis Monthly)
Source: Hepatitis Monthly - August 16, 2015 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research
Low Serum Hepatitis B Surface Antigen Level Predicts Compensated Cirrhosis Caused by Chronic Hepatitis B in HBeAg Positive Patients in East China
Conclusions: In HBeAg positive CHB patients, low serum HBsAg level is a useful predictor of compensated cirrhosis. (Source: Hepatitis Monthly)
Source: Hepatitis Monthly - August 16, 2015 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research
Diagnostic Value of Arginase-1 and Glypican-3 in Differential Diagnosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Cholangiocarcinoma and Metastatic Carcinoma of Liver
Conclusions: The findings of this study reveal that both ARG-1 and GPC-3 are helpful IHC markers to separate HCC from CC and MA. Furthermore, ARG-1 shows 100% sensitivity and 82.6% specificity for the diagnosis of HCC whereas GPC-3 demonstrated 97.7% sensitivity and 91.3% specificity for the diagnosis of this tumor.,Results: Arginase-1 and GPC-3 demonstrated diffuse staining, as reactivity in > 97% of HCCs, whereas only one (5.3%) and 2 (10.5%) of 19 CC cases show positive staining for GPC-3 and ARG-1, respectively. The expression of both markers in MA showed 6 (22.2%) for ARG-1 and 3 (11.1%) for GPC-3, especially with ...
Source: Hepatitis Monthly - July 22, 2015 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research
Impact of Hepatitis C Virus Infection on Cognitive Function in Patients With Covert Hepatic Encephalopathy
Conclusions: Our results suggested that neuropsychiatric and cognitive problems must be considered in the management of covert hepatic encephalopathy (HE) patients, especially in patients with HCV infection. The WMS and simple visual RT tests are useful methods for the early diagnosis of covert HE. (Source: Hepatitis Monthly)
Source: Hepatitis Monthly - July 21, 2015 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research
Parathyroid Hormone Levels May Predict Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis in Morbidly Obese Patients
Conclusions: Elevated serum PTH level was the predictive factor for NASH in morbidly obese patients. Also, we reported elevated serum liver enzymes, high serum PTH levels and older age as predictors of NASH in patients seeking obesity surgical treatments.,Results: Forty-six patients (34 women, aged 36.5 ± 10.6 years) were analyzed. The mean levels of liver enzymes were significantly higher in the group with NASH (P value < 0.01). In an unadjusted logistic model, PTH was the only variable in vitamin D endocrine system which was significantly associated with NASH (odds ratio (OR): 1.04, 95%CI: 1.01 - 1.07). After adjustm...
Source: Hepatitis Monthly - July 21, 2015 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research
Efficacy of Hepatoprotective Agents With or Without Antiviral Drugs on Liver Function and Fibrosis in Patients With Hepatitis B: A Meta-Analysis
Conclusions: Hepatoprotective agents combined with antiviral drugs can significantly improve liver function and liver fibrosis parameters in patients with hepatitis B. (Source: Hepatitis Monthly)
Source: Hepatitis Monthly - July 21, 2015 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research
Hepatitis C Virus Treatment Revolution: Eastern European Story
: Hepatitis C can be cured and even eradicated by new “revolutionary” treatments. However, at present exorbitant prices, Eastern European countries cannot afford the new treatments, while in western rich and developed countries (e.g. Germany and France) they are already available. Concerted efforts of governments, public health officials, and the community at large, are needed to negotiate agreements with pharmaceuticals companies to make the new treatments accessible and affordable. When science has demonstrated that hepatitis C can be cured, it would be unforgivable if millions of infected patients from eastern parts...
Source: Hepatitis Monthly - July 21, 2015 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research
Performance of Protein Induced by Vitamin K Absence or Antagonist-II (PIVKA-II) for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Screening in Chinese Population
Conclusions: PIVKA-II was as efficient as AFP when used as a single marker for HCC screening and the combination of two biomarkers gave a better performance. (Source: Hepatitis Monthly)
Source: Hepatitis Monthly - July 21, 2015 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research
Impact of the IL-10 Promoter Gene Polymorphisms in the Severity of Chronic Hepatitis B Infection
Conclusions: Some IL-10 promoter gene polymorphisms predisposed the infected hepatitis B virus cases to cirrhosis in our study population.,Background: Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is an important anti-inflammatory cytokine. The polymorphisms of its promoter gene have been considered to be related with the chronicity of hepatitis B infection.,Results: The C/A genotype at position -592, C/T genotype at position -819, and GCC/ATA haplotype of the IL-10 gene promoter were significantly more common in the patients with cirrhosis. The genotypes were significantly different between the hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative and HBeAg-p...
Source: Hepatitis Monthly - July 20, 2015 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research
Prevalence and Risk Factors of HCV/HIV Co-Infection and HCV Genotype Distribution in North-Eastern Poland
Conclusions: HIV/HCV co-infection is an important medical problem in North-Eastern Poland. A history of incarceration and younger age at HIV diagnosis were additional to IDU risk factors for HCV seropositivity in this cohort.,Patients and Methods: Adult HIV-1 infected patients, with at least one antiHCV result, treated in one of Polish HIV/AIDS reference centers, participated in this cross-sectional study.,Results: Four hundred and fifty seven patients with a median age of 38 years (ranged 23 - 72), and predominantly male (76.6%) were enrolled in the study. Anti-HCV antibodies were detected in 325 individuals (71.1%). HCV ...
Source: Hepatitis Monthly - July 8, 2015 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research
YMDD Motif Mutation Profile Among Patients Receiving Liver Transplant Due to Hepatitis B Virus Infection With Long Term Lamivudine/Immunoglobulin Therapy
Conclusions: Although the patients carrying M204I mutation were more likely to show lack of responses to LAM therapy, LAM replacing by other nucleoside/tide analogs plus HBIG maybe still effective in decreasing hepatitis B recurrence after liver transplantation. However, it is suggested that drug resistance test should be considered by clinicians during therapeutic management to avoid the following viral breakthrough.,Results: Totally, according to the laboratory criteria there were 13 cases with detectable HBV genome, while the mean liver enzyme levels were higher in recurrent patients and HBsAg was detected only in four ...
Source: Hepatitis Monthly - July 8, 2015 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research
Comparison of Different Techniques of Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Biopsy of Liver in a Swine Model
Conclusions: Among these three different FNB techniques, CFNB technique provided the greatest cellularity. Capillary-FNB technique was inferior among all with the lowest quality of obtained material for cytopathological interpretation.,Background: The quality of liver biopsy specimens obtained with different fine needle biopsy (FNB) techniques has not been compared.,Objectives: This study was performed to evaluate the diagnostic quality of three different liver FNB biopsy techniques.,Materials and Methods: Two sequential biopsy series were performed on piglets. Three biopsy techniques were compared: capillary-FNB, core-FNB...
Source: Hepatitis Monthly - June 22, 2015 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research
