TY - JOUR
T1 - Cryoglobulinemia in hepatitis C virus chronic active hepatitis
T2 - Effects of interferon-α therapy
AU - Casaril, Massimo
AU - Capra, Franco
AU - Gabrielli, Giovanni Battista
AU - Bassi, Antonella
AU - Squarzoni, Stefano
AU - Dagradi, Roberta
AU - De Maria, Elena
AU - Corrocher, Roberto
PY - 1996/8
Y1 - 1996/8
N2 - We investigated the prevalence of mixed cryoglobulinemia (MC) in 100 cases of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and the effect of a 6- month treatment with interferon-alpha (IFN-α). Cryoglobulins were detected on admission in 36 of 100 patients and appeared during observation in a further 18 cases. Cryocrit ranged from 0.5% to 20%. Patients with MC were older and had a higher incidence of cirrhosis than those without MC. Immunologic characterization of the cryoprecipitate showed the presence of type II in 84% of cases and type III in 16%. The patients received IFN-α (6 MU three times per week) for 6 months. Fifty-seven were responders (i.e., reached normal aminotransferase levels), 26 of these relapsed within 2 months after IFN withdrawal, and 30 did not relapse. After IFN-α treatment, cryoglobulinemia disappeared in 11 of the 21 evaluable responders, but in none of the 15 nonresponder patients (p <0.003). The clearance of MC was associated in all cases with clearance of HCV RNA. The delayed appearance of cryoglobulinemia in responders seems to be associated with a higher probability of relapse.
AB - We investigated the prevalence of mixed cryoglobulinemia (MC) in 100 cases of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and the effect of a 6- month treatment with interferon-alpha (IFN-α). Cryoglobulins were detected on admission in 36 of 100 patients and appeared during observation in a further 18 cases. Cryocrit ranged from 0.5% to 20%. Patients with MC were older and had a higher incidence of cirrhosis than those without MC. Immunologic characterization of the cryoprecipitate showed the presence of type II in 84% of cases and type III in 16%. The patients received IFN-α (6 MU three times per week) for 6 months. Fifty-seven were responders (i.e., reached normal aminotransferase levels), 26 of these relapsed within 2 months after IFN withdrawal, and 30 did not relapse. After IFN-α treatment, cryoglobulinemia disappeared in 11 of the 21 evaluable responders, but in none of the 15 nonresponder patients (p <0.003). The clearance of MC was associated in all cases with clearance of HCV RNA. The delayed appearance of cryoglobulinemia in responders seems to be associated with a higher probability of relapse.
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M3 - Article
C2 - 8877728
AN - SCOPUS:0029814444
VL - 16
SP - 585
EP - 588
JO - Journal of Interferon and Cytokine Research
JF - Journal of Interferon and Cytokine Research
SN - 1079-9907
IS - 8
ER -