Low-titre auto-antibodies predict autoimmune disease during interferon-alpha treatment of chronic hepatitis C

Background: In this study, we determined whether low-titre auto-antibodies are a risk factor for the development of autoimmune disease during interferon-alpha (IFN alpha) therapy for chronic hepatitis C (CHC) infection. Methods: Eighty-three patients with circulating hepatitis C virus RNA and chronic viral hepatitis on liver biopsy, who had not received IFN alpha, were assessed for serum auto-antibodies (anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA), anti-smooth muscle antibodies, thyroid microsomal antibodies, thyroglobulin antibodies) and thyroid function tests. Results: Thirty-five patients had one or more pre-existing auto-antibody. The majority were low titre ANA. Seven of the 35 patients had clinical autoimmune disease or immune-mediated disorders, predominantly thyroid disease. Twenty patients with low titre auto-antibodies received treatment with IFN alpha and of these 20 patients, six patients developed adverse effects with a possible auto-immune basis. In comparison, only five of the 48 patients without auto-antibodies had immune-mediated disorders and no patient developed autoimmune complications during therapy with IFN alpha. Conclusions: These results suggest that the presence of low-titre auto-antibodies may be a risk factor for the development of autoimmune dysfunction during IFN alpha therapy for chronic hepatitis C. Patients with no detectable auto-antibodies have a low risk for developing autoimmune complications during treatment with IFN alpha. (C) 1999 Blackwell Science Asia Pty Ltd

Association between apolipoprotein E epsilon 4 and neuropsychiatric symptoms during interferon alpha treatment for chronic hepatitis C

Neuropsychiatric complications are common in patients with chronic hepatitis C undergoing treatment with interferon alpha. These side effects include alterations of mood, cognition, and neuroendocrine function and are unpredictable. In a number of neurological disorders characterized by neuropsychiatric symptoms and cognitive dysfunction, inheritance of an apolipoprotein E (APOE) epsilon4 allele is associated with adverse neuropsychiatric outcomes. The authors present evidence that the APOE genotype may influence a patient's neuropsychiatric response to interferon alpha treatment. The inheritance of APOE genotypes was examined in 110 patients with chronic hepatitis C treated with interferon alpha. A retrospective investigation was conducted by assessing the rates of psychiatric referral and neuropsychiatric symptoms experienced during treatment along with other complaints indicating psychological distress. A highly statistically significant association was seen between APOE genotypes and interferon-induced neuropsychiatric symptoms. Patients with an epsilon4 allele were more likely to be referred to a psychiatrist and had more neuropsychiatric symptoms during antiviral treatment than those without an epsilon4 allele. Additionally, patients with an epsilon4 allele were more likely to experience irritability or anger and anxiety or other mood symptoms. These data demonstrate that an individual's APOE genotype may influence the neuropsychiatric response to antiviral therapy with interferon alpha. Prospective studies evaluating the importance of APOE in susceptibility to interferon alpha-induced neuropsychiatric complications are needed. Moreover, pathways involving APOE should be considered in understanding the pathophysiology of interferon alpha-induced neuropsychiatric complications

Steatosis and chronic hepatitis C: analysis of fibrosis and stellate cell activation

Background/Aims: Steatosis is a frequent histological finding in chronic hepatitis C and is associated with increased hepatic fibrosis

Measurement of B0→Ds(*)+D*- branching fractions and B0→Ds*+D*- polarization with a partial reconstruction technique

We present a study of the decays B0→Ds(*)+D*-, using 20.8 fb-1 of e+e- annihilation data recorded with the BABAR detector. The analysis is conducted with a partial reconstruction technique, in which only the Ds(*)+ and the soft pion from the D*- decay are reconstructed. We measure the branching fractions B(B0→Ds+D*-)=(1.03±0.14±0.13±0.26)% and B(B0→Ds*+D*-)=(1.97±0.15±0.30±0.49)%, where the first error is statistical, the second is systematic, and the third is the error due to the Ds+→φπ+ branching fraction uncertainty. From the B0→Ds*+D*- angular distributions, we measure the fraction of longitudinal polarization ΓL/Γ=(51.9±5.0±2.8)%, which is consistent with theoretical predictions based on factorization

Measurement of the Branching Fractions and CP Asymmetry of B-→D(CP)0K- Decays with the BABAR Detector

The measurement of R, Rcp+, and Acp+ were presented. B- → D° K-decays with D° mesons decaying to non-CP and CP-even eigenstates were reconstructed. It was observed that the charged-particle tracking was provided by a five-layer silicon vertex tracker (SVT). It was shown that the parametrization of the particle identication PDF was performed by fitting with a Gaussian distribution

Measurement of sin 2β with hadronic and previously unused muonic J/ψ decays

We report a measurement of the CP-violation parameter sin 2β with B0J/ψKS0 decays in which the J/ψ decays to hadrons or to muons that do not satisfy our standard identification criteria. With a sample of 88 million BB̄ events collected by the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy B factory at SLAC, we reconstruct 100±17 such events, with J/ψ→π-π -π0 being the most prevalent, and measure sin2β=1.56± 0.42(stat)±0.21(syst). © 2004 The American Physical Society

Measurement of branching fractions and charge asymmetries in B ± → ρ±π0 and B ± → ρ0π± decays, and search for B0 → ρ0π0

The branching fractions and charge asymmeteries in B-meson decays were discussed. The decay amplitudes were evaluated from the measurements of decay rates and CP-violating charge asymmetries. The B-background from charmed and charmless B decays was investigated using MC-simulated events. The uncertainties in the signal MC simulation, which include signal misreconstruction, were evaluated from fully reconstructed B-decays. The misreconstruction signal was due the presence of low momentum pions in the B-decays

Measurement of D-s(+) and D-s(*+) production in B meson decays and from continuum e(+)e(-) annihilation at root s=10.6 GeV

New measurements of D-s(+) and D-s(*+) meson production rates from B decays and from q(q) over bar continuum events near the Y(4S) resonance are presented. Using 20.8 fb(-1) of data on the Y(4S) resonance and 2.6 fb(-1) off-resonance, we find the inclusive branching fractions B(B-->Ds+X) = (10.93+/-0.19+/-0.58+/-2.73)% and B(B-->Ds*+X) = (7.9+/-0.8+/-0.7+/-2.0)%, where the first error is statistical, the second is systematic, and the third is due to the D-s(+)-->phipi(+) branching fraction uncertainty. The production cross sections sigma(e(+)e(-)-->Ds+X)xB(D-s(+)-->phipi(+)) = 7.55+/-0.20+/-0.34 pb and sigma(e(+)e(-)-->Ds*+/-X)xB(D-s(+)-->phipi(+)) = 5.8+/-0.7+/-0.5 pb are measured at center-of-mass energies about 40 MeV below the Y(4S) mass. The branching fractions SigmaB(B-->D-s((*)+)(D) over bar ((*))) = (5.07+/-0.14+/-0.30+/-1.27)% and SigmaB(B-->D-s(*+)(D) over bar ((*))) = (4.1+/-0.2+/-0.4+/-1.0)% are determined from the D-s((*)+) momentum spectra. The mass difference m(D-s(+)) -m(D+) = 98.4+/-0.1+/-0.3 MeV/c(2) is also measured

Measurement of the branching fraction and polarization for the decay B - → D*0K*-

A study of the decay B- → D*0K*- based on a sample of 86 × 10 6 υ(4S) → BB̄ decays was presented. The measurement was found to be 2.5 times more precise than previous results. The measurement was based on heavy quark effective theory. The longitudinal polarization fraction of this decay was also measured