ABSTRACT
Central neuropsychiatric hepatitis C virus [HCV]-associated disorders have been described with increasing frequency in the literature. Anticardiolipin antibodies [aCL] associated with HCV may be an important marker for the central neurological complications. furthermore, cryoglobulinemia could be an important genic factor for such complications. To study various central neuro-psychiatric complications of chronic hepatitis C infection and their possible pathogenetic mechanisms. This study was conducted upon 160 Egyptian patients with chronic hepatitis C infection. They were subdivided into 2 subgroups: Group I which included 80 chronic hepatitis C patients with clinically apparent neuropsychiatric complication [s] and group II which included 80 chronic hepatitis C patients neuropsychiatric asymptomatic. The control group included 30 healthy volunteers as a control group for the neuropsychological evaluation. Patients were subjected to clinical neuropsychological evaluation, estimation of hepatitis markers, cryoglobulins, anticardiolipin antibodies, antinuclear antibodies, EEG, MRI brain. In neuropsychiatric manifested HCV patients, the most commonly encountered disorders were memory impairment and mood disorders each affected 11.7% of patients red by fatigue which affected 10% of patients then cerebrovascular complications and tension-type headache each.affected 8.3% of patients and in less frequency, late onset idiopathic intracranial hypertension and CNS infections There was highly statistical significant difference between both groups regarding the presence of cryoglobulin, anticardiolipin antibody, antinuclear antibody, EEG changes and MRL lesions being more common in group I. Cognitive impairment, mood disorders, fatigue, cerebrovascular complications are common with HCV infection especially when associated with+ve cryoglobulins, ACL and antinuclear antibodies