Rheumatology Medical News about Hepatits C virus infection;Systemic autoimmune diseases

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Systemic autoimmune diseases in patients with hepatitis C virus infection: Characterization of 1020 cases (the HISPAMEC registry)
Journal of Rheumatology, 07/02/09

Ramos-casals M et al. – Study reports that the most common systemic autoimmune diseases (SAD) reported in association with chronic HCV infection were Sjögren’s syndrome (SS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In these patients, ANA, RF and cryoglobulins are the predominant immunological features.

Methods

Aim was to describe the clinical and immunologic characteristics of a large series of pts with SAD associated with HCV infection
HISPAMEC Registry: a multicenter international study group dedicated to collecting data on pts diagnosed with SAD with serological evidence of chronic HCV infection

Results

1,020 HCV pts with SAD; pts were reported from Southern Europe, North America, Asia, Northern Europe, South America, and Australia
Countries reporting the most cases were Spain, France, Italy, USA, and Japan
Most frequently reported SAD were SS, RA and SLE, polyarteritis nodosa, antiphospholipid syndrome, inflammatory myopathies, and sarcoidosis
20 pts had ≥2 SAD; epidemiological data were available in 677 cases
72% pts were female, with a mean age of 49.5 yrs at SAD diagnosis and 50.5 yrs at diagnosis of HCV infection
Main immunologic features were ANA in 61% of pts, RF in 57%, hypocomplementemia in 52%, and cryoglobulins in 52%
Main differential aspect between primary and HCV-related SAD was the predominance of cryoglobulinemic-related markers over specific SAD-related markers in pts with HCV

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Silent Epidemic of Viral Hepatitis May Lead to Boom in Serious Liver Disease
JAMA, 11/12/09 Relevance Score: 81%%

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Liver International, 10/08/09 Relevance Score: 81%%

Declining hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence in pregnant women: impact of anti-HCV screening of donated blood
Transfusion, 11/23/09 Relevance Score: 80%%

Hepatitis C virus infection among drug injectors in St Petersburg, Russia: social and molecular epidemiology of an endemic infection
Addiction, 10/19/09 Relevance Score: 80%%

The HLA-ER/HLA-ER Genotype Affects the Natural Course of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Infection and Is Associated with HLA-E–Restricted Recognition of an HCV-Derived Peptide by Interferon[gamma]–Secreting Human CD8+ T Cells
The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 10/14/09 Relevance Score: 80%%