The role of hepatitis C virus infection in glomerulopathy.

[Guest guest]

Hepatol. Res. 2000 Nov 1;18(3):190-202

The role of hepatitis C virus infection in

glomerulopathy.

Muramatsu T, Hora K, Ako S, Tachibana N, Hora K,

Tanaka E

Second Department of Internal Medicine, Shinshu

University School of

Medicine, 3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto, Japan

Record supplied by publisher]

The characteristics and prevalence of hepatitis C

virus

(HCV)-associated

glomerulopathy remain to be determined. To analyze

the relationship

between

HCV infection and glomerulopathy, we enrolled three

groups of

individuals or

patients. The

first group consisted of 7776 individuals who were

seen for routine

checkups. The second group consisted of 86 patients

with chronic

hepatitis

C, 40 patients with chronic hepatitis B, and 51

patients with non-viral

liver diseases. The third group consisted of nine

patients with HCV

association glomerulopathy who underwent renal biopsy.

Of the 7776

individuals undergoing medical checkups, 142 (1.8%)

were positive for

HCV

antibody. The positive rate of proteinuria was

significantly higher

(P<0.030) in individuals with HCV antibody (2.1%) than

in those without

the

antibody (0.6%). Abnormal levels of serum creatinine

(5.8 vs. 0%,

P=0.025)

and complications of cryoglobulinemia (45 vs. 5%,

P<0.001) were

significantly more common in the 86 patients with

chronic hepatitis C

(5.8%)

than in the 91 patients with other liver diseases. All

patients with

abnormal levels of serum creatinine had

concomitant cryoglobulinemia. Of the nine patients

with histologically

proven HCV-associated glomerulopathy, four had

cryoglobulinemia (all

were

type II). Elevations of serum creatinine level (4/4

vs. 0/5, P=0.048)

and a

glomerular legion of membranoproliferative

glomerulonephritis (3/4 vs.

0/5,

P=0.048), a severe type of

glomerulonephritis, were more common in the four

patients with

cryoglobulinemia than in the remaining five patients.

In conclusion,

HCV

infection was found to be significantly associated

with glomerulopathy.

In

addition, the presence of cryoglobulinemia, which

usually accompanies

membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, was found to

be an indicator

of

renal insufficiency in patients with

HCV-associated glomerulopathy.

PMID: 11058824

__________________________________________________