COMMENTARY
See article on page 570
Is the hepatocyte a Trojan horse for hepatitis C virus?
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major public health problem around the world, with a prevalence ranging from 0.5 to 2% in most developed countries. After acute infection, spontaneous remission is a rare event. Although long term consequences of HCV infection are controversial, there is a consensus emerging that HCV infection is a progressive disease resulting in liver failure in some but probably in a minority of infected individuals. Patients who lack biochemical evidence of liver injury may be an important subset with a "more benign" natural history.1
In the rare situation where spontaneous cure occurs after acute
infection, aminotransferase activities normalise and HCV RNA becomes
undetectable in serum. By contrast, the serological profile shows minor
modifications with time. With chronicity, serum HCV RNA remains
detectable in the vast majority of individuals. Undetectable HCV RNA in
serum in patients with abnormal liver enzymes may be related to low
viraemia, be under
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Gut 1998 42: 570-575.[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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