Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Arico, Sarino
• Rizzetto, Mario
• Zanetti, Alessandro
• Diana, Silvana
• Arnone, Michele
• Ascione, Antonio
• Pastore, Giuseppe
• Aragona, Marcello
• Caredda, Francesco
• Marinucci, Giovanni
• Farci, Patrizia
• Caporaso, Nicola
• Dentico, Pietro
• Raimondo, Giovanni
• Craxi, Antonio

Titel

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF ANTIBODY TO THE HEPATITIS DELTA VIRUS IN SYMPTOMLESS HBsAg CARRIERS

Ist Teil von

• The Lancet (British edition), 1985-08, Vol.326 (8451), p.356-358

Ort / Verlag

London: Elsevier Ltd

Erscheinungsjahr

1985

Quelle

Elsevier ScienceDirect Journals Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Antibody to the hepatitis delta virus (anti-δ) was detected in 112 out of 2487 (5%) individuals fortuitously found to have the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in the blood. Liver function was impaired in 38% (43 of 112) of the anti-δ-positive carriers but in only 9% (215 of 2375) of the anti-δ-negative subjects (p<0·001). Liver biopsy specimens were obtained from 31 antibody-positive and 97 antibody-negative subjects with impaired liver function. Important histological changes were observed in 61% of the 31 antibody-positive carriers (7 chronic active hepatitis, 4 active cirrhosis, 8 inactive cirrhosis) but in only 19% of the 97 antibody-negative carriers (p<0·001). The presence of anti-δ in serum identifies a subpopulation of apparently healthy HBsAg carriers whose risk of underlying liver disease is four times higher than that in the ordinary carrier. The identification of anti-δ in a symptom-free HBsAg carrier with abnormal liver function is thus an indication for a diagnostic liver biopsy.