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Int J Clin Lab Res 1998;28(2):96-99
Hepatitis C virus genotypes and clinical features in hepatitis C virus-related
mixed cryoglobulinemia.
Origgi L, Vanoli M, Lunghi G, Carbone A, Grasso M, Scorza R
Terza Divisione di Medicina Interna, IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore, Milan,
Italy.
Mixed cryoglobulinemia is a systemic disease, almost always associated with
hepatitis C virus infection and characterized by purpura and cutaneous vasculitis,
asthenia, arthralgias, and often renal and neurological involvement. No significant
differences have been described to date in mixed cryoglobulinemia patients with
type 1, 2, or 3 hepatitis C virus infection with respect to symptoms, while
a higher prevalence of genotype 2a has been reported in patients without clinical
and biochemical signs of liver disease or with serum autoantibodies. We examined
33 hepatitis C virus-positive patients with mixed cryoglobulinemia to assess
if any clinical or serological feature is related to infection with different
genotypes. All subjects underwent viral genotype determination by means of a
single-step polymerase chain reaction. Thirteen patients (39%) were infected
with hepatitis C virus type 1b, 17 (52%) with type 2a or 2a/c, and 3 (9%) with
type 3. There was a significant difference in the frequency of peripheral nervous
system involvement: paresthesias or other symptoms of peripheral neuropathy
were less frequent in patients with 2a or 2a/c infection (29%) than in patients
with type 1b or type 3 infection (88%, P = 0.003). Only patients with hepatitis
C virus type 2 had urticaria or cutaneous ulcers. These patients also had a
lower frequency of arthralgias, lower cryocrit values (P = 0.02), and lower
serum levels of alanine-aminotransferase and gamma-glutamyl-transpeptidase (P
< 0.04) than patients with type 1 and type 3 infection. The prevalence of
antinuclear antibody positivity was similar in the three groups.
PMID: 9689550, UI: 98353975
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