Non-B hepatocellular carcinoma: influence of age, sex, alcohol, family clustering, blood transfusion and chronic liver disease.

In 144 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), 166 cases of cirrhosis without HCC and 142 cases of chronic hepatitis, we examined HBsAg, anti-HBs and anti-HBc in sera and compared the following factors between hepatitis B virus marker-negative and -positive patients: age, sex, alcohol consumption, family clustering of liver diseases, and histories of blood transfusion and post-transfusion hepatitis. Results of this study demonstrated several distinct differences in clinical backgrounds between non-B (negative for HBsAg, anti-HBs and anti-HBc) and B (positive for HBsAg) patients with HCC. Non-B patients were significantly older, had a lower frequency of familial tendencies for liver diseases, and more frequently had cancers other than HCC in their families. Some of these differences were also observed between non-B and B patients with cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis. Among patients with chronic hepatitis, the non-B patients had received blood transfusion or had post-transfusion hepatitis more frequently than the B patients. However, this difference was not apparent in patients with liver cirrhosis or HCC, suggesting that progression of non-A, non-B post-transfusion hepatitis to cirrhosis and HCC may not be as frequent as progression to chronic hepatitis.</p

Clinical and histological features of sporadic non-A, non-B hepatitis.

The incidence of hepatitis A (HA), hepatitis B (HB), and non-A, non-B hepatitis (NANBH) was 27%, 30% and 43% among 73 patients with sporadic hepatitis. Epidemiological data (geographical distribution, seasonal variation, age, sex, and occupation) were not distinguishing of the type of hepatitis. Neither intrafamilial infection nor previous contact with viral hepatitis patients could be demonstrated in the NANBH cases. Fever and jaundice were less frequent in NANBH than in HA. Maximum levels of SGPT, serum bilirubin, ZTT, and gamma-globulin were significantly lower in NANBH than in HA and HB. Ten of 29 NANBH patients (35%) presented abnormal SGPT activities for more than 6 months, and four (14%) more than 12 months. In the ten patients with prolonged courses, jaundice was more frequent and maximum levels of SGPT were higher than in patients with transient courses. Histopathologic findings were not markedly different from those of HA and HB. Bile duct damage, fatty deposition, and giant multi-nucleated cells were recognized in 6, 12, and 2 NANBH patients, respectively. There were no characteristic ultrastructural changes in NANBH.</p

Twenty four-week peginterferon plus ribavirin after interferon-β induction for genotype 1b chronic hepatitis C

AIM: To investigate the possibility of shortening the duration of peginterferon (Peg-IFN) plus ribavirin (RBV) combination therapy by incorporating interferon-β (IFN-β) induction therapy

Short-term intravenous interferon therapy for chronic hepatitis B

AIM: To investigate the therapeutic efficacy of short-term, multiple daily dosing of intravenous interferon (IFN) in patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive chronic hepatitis B

A Clinicohistopathological Study of IgA Nephropathy Associated with Nephrotic Syndrome

Among the 201 cases of IgA nephropathy, a study was made of the clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, and histopathological findings of 11 cases (5.5%) presenting nephrotic syndrome in comparison with those of a non-nephrotic group. The results of this study showed that in comparison with the non-nephrotic group the frequency of hypertension, anemia, and depressed renal function was higher in the nephrotic group and that the histological damage was severer. As can be expected, the frequency of severe proteinuria, hypoproteinemia, and depressed serum IgG value was higher in the nephrotic group, but no significant difference could be demonstrated in degree of hematuria, serum IgA value, and immunofluorescence findings. Furthermore, the response to various treatments was unfavorable and in 3 cases chronic renal failure developed. In general, in many of the cases the prognosis is poor. On the other hand, the authors experienced one case with minimal change in the histological picture which responded favorably to steroid administration. The significance of such a case is yet unknown

Involvement of Bacterial Antigens in Immunoglobulin A Nephropathy

To investigate the involvement of bacterial antigens in Immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy, we measured IgA, IgG and IgM antibodies to gram-negative Escherichia coli (E.coli) and Haemophilus influenzae (H.influenzae) by ELISA in 24 patients (11 males and 13 females) with IgA nephropathy and 22 normal controls (11 males and 11 females). The titers of IgA and IgM antibodies for E.coli and H.influenzae were significantly higher in the IgA nephropathy group than in the controls. In addition, IgA and IgM antibody titers for E.coli and H.influenzae showed a significant positive correlation with serum IgA and IgM levels. These findings suggest that subclinical infection by these bacteria stimulates IgA production and that this may be a factor in the development and progression of IgA nephropathy