Theme |
Prognosis of Liver Diseases |
Title |
Prognosis of Autoimmune Hepatitis |
Author |
Fumitoki Watanabe |
Internal Medicine I, The Jikei University, School of Medicine |
Author |
Gotaro Toda |
Internal Medicine I, The Jikei University, School of Medicine |
[ Summary ] |
Autoimmune hepatitis(AIH) is observed more frequently in Caucasians and results in liver cirrhosis. A recent nationwide survey in Japan revealed that the course of Japanese AIH is mild, suggesting that the difference in clinical background involves genetic factors. The 10-year survival rate of AIH patients treated with corticosteroids in Japan reached 85%. However, long-term follow up is needed of drug therapy because of its adverse effects. In Japan, patients who have hepatitis C virus infection constituted a substantial fraction (10%). Moreover, about 5% of the patients were anti-nuclear antibody negative. |