| Theme | Extrahepatic Manifestation in HCV Infection | |
|---|---|---|
| Title | HCV and Interstitial Pneumonia | |
| Publish Date | 1999/03 | |
| Author | Ken Ohta | Department of Medicine, Teikyo University School of Medicine |
| [ Summary ] | In this paper, I would like to review data, including ours, which suggests the possibility that the hepatitis C virus (HCV) is involved in the pathogenesis of interstitial pneurnonia. When we looked at serum antibodies related to HCV, we found that patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) showed a significantly higher prevalence for this condition than age-matched normal control groups. Searching for HCV-RNA. using RT-PCR, also revealed a higher frequency of HCV cases in IPF patients, i.e. about 12% in the case of anti-HCV antibodies. Importantly, the patients with IPF were definitely diagnosed using histopathological findings normally found in interstitial pneumonia(UIP) Moreover, an analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid has disclosed that the number of activated T lymphocytes increases in HCV-infected patients, and that the increase is normalized by treatment with interferon alpha. It has been reported that the treatment for chronic active hepatitis C with either some type of interferon or Sho-saiko-to, an herbal medicine, could cause interstitial pneumonia with lymphocyte infiltration. Drug-induced pneumonia, using interferon or Sho-saiko-to has not often been reported, but its prevalence seems to be more frequent in HCV cases than other diseases such as hepatitis B. This data suggest the possibility that HCV is actively participating in the pathogenesis of interstitial pneumonia. In other words, interstitial pneumonia could be one of the extrahepatic lesions caused by HCV. |
|