Prevalence of hepatitis C and B virus infection in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy in Brazil: a pilot study

The idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDMC) is a disease of the cardiac muscle characterized by systolic dilation and/or dysfunction of one or both ventricles, symptoms of congestive heart failure and risk of early death. Several studies in animal models and in humans have supported the hypothesis of the viral infection as initial event in the immunopathogenesis of the ventricular dilation. The objective of this study was to correlate the presence of hepatitis C virus chronic infection and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, comparing samples of cases with IDCM with paired controls with Chagas-type specific dilated cardiomyopathy and ischemic-type specific dilated cardiomyopathy. Only 2.9% (1/34) of IDCM patients were HCV carriers, which strongly argue against this hypothesis. Therefore, based on our results, there is no justification for investigating HCV in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy diagnosis

Fulminant hepatitis with microvesicular steatosis (a histologic comparison of cases occurring in Brazil - Labrea hepatitis - and in central Africa - Bangui hepatitis)

A similar histopathologic picture of fatal hepatitis associated with widespread acute fatty changes in hepatocytes and single-cell necrosis was seen in epidemic cases occurring in two distinct equatorial areas having high prevalences of HBV and HDV infections. The cases were previously considered to be two different entities; Labrea hepatitis in Brazil, and Bangui hepatitis in the Central African Republic. However, the histopathologic findings suggest that they are pathogenetically and etiologically related to HBVand HDV infections, probably modified by some as yet unknown factor (s) present in equatorial forest zones