       Document 0725
 DOCN  M9590725
 TI    Chronic hepatitis in patients with active hepatitis B virus and
       hepatitis C virus combined infections: a histological study.
 DT    9509
 AU    Villari D; Pernice M; Spinella S; Squadrito G; Rodino G; Brancatelli S;
       Longo G; Raimondo G; Dipartimento di Patologia Umana, Universita di
       Messina, Italy.
 SO    Am J Gastroenterol. 1995 Jun;90(6):955-8. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE
       MED/95289342
 AB    OBJECTIVES: To evaluate whether peculiar histological changes are
       present in liver tissue of patients with chronic hepatitis by hepatitis
       B and hepatitis C (HBV and HCV) virus combined infections. METHODS: We
       studied liver biopsy specimens from 14 HB surface
       antigen/anti-HCV-positive patients consecutively admitted to hospital
       because of chronic liver disease from 1987 to 1992. Alcohol abusers,
       drug addicts, hepatitis delta virus- and HIV-infected subjects were
       excluded from the study. All of them were positive for serum HBV-DNA
       and/or intrahepatic HB core antigen and for serum HCV-RNA. Histological
       examination showed mild or moderate chronic hepatitis in nine cases and
       severe chronic hepatitis with cirrhosis in five cases. Two additional
       sets of liver biopsy specimens were also included in the study,
       consisting of liver samples from 14 patients with chronic liver disease
       due to active HBV infection alone (group B) and from 14 patients with
       active HCV infection alone (group C). Cases from group B and C matched
       for age, sex, and histological diagnosis with those from group B + C.
       Histological patterns of all the liver specimens of the three groups
       were re-examined by two authors who scored the found features using a
       scale from 0 to 3. RESULTS: No peculiar histological pattern was
       revealed in group B + C, and most of the detected microscopic features
       were similarly present in all three groups. Bile duct lesions and well
       defined lymphoid follicles were found only in liver samples of patients
       from groups C and B + C. Ground-glass hepatocytes were observed only in
       cases from the groups B and B + C. CONCLUSIONS: Histological examination
       of liver tissue from patients with chronic HBV and HCV combined
       infection does not show either typical patterns or evidence that this
       subgroup of chronic viral hepatitis is a more severe form of liver
       disease than that caused by a single virus infection. The observation in
       liver samples of peculiar lesions by HBV or HCV infection does not
       exclude a combined infection by both viruses.
 DE    Adult  Biopsy  Chronic Disease  Female  Hepatitis
       B/*COMPLICATIONS/PATHOLOGY  Hepatitis C/*COMPLICATIONS/PATHOLOGY
       Hepatitis, Chronic Active/PATHOLOGY  Human  Liver/PATHOLOGY  Male
       Middle Age  JOURNAL ARTICLE

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).

