Biomedical Research

Background: Autoantibody positivity is a common finding in chronic hepatitis C infection. The data about the clinical and prognostic significance of the presence of these autoantibodies is still controversial. The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical significance of the presence of autoantibodies on the treatment response of the genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C.

Methods: The research relies on the data collected retrospectively through the outpatient clinic files and the hospital’s automation system. A total of 249 Anti-HCV and HCV-RNA positive patients (91 male, 158 female) who were admitted to our outpatient clinic between the years 2010 and 2013, were included in this study. All of the patients in this study had conventional treatment for hepatitis C.

Results: A total of 85 patients (64.3%) were anti-nuclear antibody positive. Anti-smooth muscle antibody was detected in 15 patients (9.9%) whereas anti-liver kidney microsomal antibody and antimicrosomal antibody in 1 patient (0.6%). The sustained virological response rate was not statistically different among autoantibody positive and autoantibody negative patients (41% vs. 58%).

Conclusion: In conclusion, in this study, we did not detect a negative effect of autoantibody positivity on the sustained virological response obtained by conventional treatment of genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C.

Author(s): Gulcin Sahingoz Erdal, Ibrahim Hatemi, Kadri Atay, Billur Canbakan, Sebati Ozdemir, Murat Tuncer, Abdullah Sonsuz
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