Clinical alert
Heavy drinking greatly increases the risk of cirrhosis in patients with HCV hepatitis
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| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
After infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV), approximately 15%
of infected individuals recover spontaneously, a further 25% have an
asymptomatic illness with persistently normal transaminases and benign
histological changes, and the remaining 60% develop biochemical and
histological evidence of chronic hepatitis.1 In studies
with 10-20 years of follow up, progression to cirrhosis has been
observed in 2-30% of patients with chronic hepatitis, with the
highest rates reported in post-transfusion cases and the lowest in
young women infected with anti-D immune globulin.2 Factors
increasing the likelihood of disease progression include older age at
viral acquisition, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or hepatitis B
virus (HBV) coinfection, and possibly male sex.1 In
addition, many studies have shown that excessive alcohol intake is
associated with more severe and rapidly progressive disease leading
more frequently to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. A study
immunising mice with HCV core constructs has suggested that this effect
is
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