Sequelae and Serologic Outcome in Persons with Hepatitis B Virus Infection
Authors: Francesca Cainelli, Sandro Vento
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2002)

Letters1 October 2002Sequelae and Serologic Outcome in Persons with Hepatitis B Virus InfectionFrancesca Cainelli, MD and Sandro Vento, MDFrancesca Cainelli, MDUniversity of Verona; Verona I-37138, Italy (Cainelli, Vento)Search for more papers by this author and Sandro Vento, MDUniversity of Verona; Verona I-37138, Italy (Cainelli, Vento)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-137-7-200210010-00016 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:The study by McMahon and colleagues on hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in Alaska natives (1) suffers from a major limitation: The authors failed to search for HBV DNA in serum. This makes it impossible to judge whether the natural history of the disease is indeed benign. Contrary to old assumptions, it has become clear that seroconversion to hepatitis B e antigen antibody (anti-Hbe) does not necessarily indicate cessation of viral replication and a more benign disease course. Instead, it indicates persistence of HBV replication in a substantial proportion of patients. Such persistence is sometimes (2) but ...References1. McMahon BJ, Holck P, Bulkow L, Snowball M. Serologic and clinical outcomes of 1536 Alaska Natives chronically infected with hepatitis B virus. Ann Intern Med. 2001;135:759-68. [PMID: 11694101] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Maruyama T, Mitsui H, Maekawa H, Yamada H, Hirayama M, Iino S, et al . Emergence of the precore mutant late in chronic hepatitis B infection correlates with the severity of liver injury and mutations in the core region. Am J Gastroenterol. 2000;95:2894-904. [PMID: 11051365] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Lindh M, Horal P, Dhillon AP, Furuta Y, Norkrans G. Hepatitis B virus carriers without precore mutations in hepatitis B e antigen-negative stage show more severe liver damage. Hepatology. 1996;24:494-501. [PMID: 8781313] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Evans AA, O'Connell AP, Pugh JC, Mason WS, Shen FM, Chen GC, et al . Geographic variation in viral load among hepatitis B carriers with differing risks of hepatocellular carcinoma. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 1998;7:559-65. [PMID: 9681522] MedlineGoogle Scholar5. Laskus T, Rakela J, Persing DH. Nucleotide sequence analysis of precore and proximal core regions in patients with chronic hepatitis B treated with interferon. Dig Dis Sci. 1995;40:1-7. [PMID: 7821093] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Francesca Cainelli, MD; Sandro Vento, MDAffiliations: University of Verona; Verona I-37138, Italy (Cainelli, Vento) PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoSerologic and Clinical Outcomes of 1536 Alaska Natives Chronically Infected with Hepatitis B Virus Brian J. McMahon , Peter Holck , Lisa Bulkow , and Mary Snowball Sequelae and Serologic Outcome in Persons with Hepatitis B Virus Infection Brian J. McMahon and Lisa Bulkow Metrics Cited byHepatitis B reactivation during combination chemotherapy for AIDS-related lymphoma is uncommon and does not adversely affect outcome 1 October 2002Volume 137, Issue 7Page: 619KeywordsAntigensDNAHepatitis BInterferonsLiverNatural history of diseasePolymerase chain reactionPopulation statisticsViral diseasesViral replication ePublished: 1 October 2002 Issue Published: 1 October 2002 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2002 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...