The prevalence and clinicai significance of "hepatitis" G infection in different groups
Keywords:
«bepatitis, «hepatitis, viral hepatitis, chronic hepatitisAbstract
Background: The role of HGV /GBV-C in liver pathology, and in association with HCV or HBV infections is not completely understood. HGV infection has not yet been studied in Portugal.
Aims: Study of the prevalence and clinicai significance of HGV infection in carriers of HBV or HCV, in patients with chronic hepatitis of unknown aetiology, and in those belonging to some risk groups. Patients and methods: HGV-RNA was determined in serum of 118 patients (75 M, 43 F): 18 with chronic hepatitis C (group I); 17 alcoholics with anti-HCV (group II); 36 chronic haemodialysis patients (group III), 16 of them with chronic hepatitis C (IIIA) and 20 without anti-HCV or HBsAg (IIIB); 17 renal transplant recipients with HCV infection (group IV); 18 chronic hepatitis B patients (group V); 10 with chronic hepatitis with unknown aetiology (group VI); 2 women with autoimmune hepatitis.). Eleven patients {7 of group I and 4 of group II) were drug addicts. HGV-RNA was assessed by RT-PCR, with primers of the 5'NC and NS5a regions, labelled with digoxigenine. Liver histology was assesssed and correlated with HGV infection in 56 chronic hepatitis C patients and in those belonging to groups V, VI and VII.
Results: We found HGV-RNA in 20 patients: 3/18 (16.7%); 2/17 (11.8%) of group II; 5/36 (13.9%) of group III, 2/16 (12.5%) of IIIA and 3/20 (15%) of IIIB; 6/17 (35.3%) of the group IV; 4/11 drug addicts (36.4%); none of the patients with cryptogenic or autoimmune hepatitis. Liver histopathology in 9 patients HCV + HGV infections showed minimal activity in 4 and mild in 5; no fibrosis in 3, portal in 6; in 4 HBV +HGV, mild activity and no fibrosis in 1, severe activity and bridging fibrosis in 3 (also alcoholics). The 3 haemodialysed with only HGV infection had normal ALT and GGT.
Conclusions: The prevalence of HGV infection was quite similar in most of the studied groups (12.5 to 22%); the exceptions were drug addicts (36.4%), renal transplant patients (35,3%) and those with chronic non-BC hepatitis (0%). Our data suggest little or no pathogenicity of HGV. However, the severity of liver disease in alcoholics with HGV and HBV infections is a remarkable finding. Future studies on the relationship between this and other hepatitis vírus are warranted.
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