Effect of hepatitis C serology on C-reactive protein in a cohort of Brazilian hemodialysis patients
Braz. j. med. biol. res
;
38(5): 783-788, May 2005. ilus, tab
Article
in English
| LILACS
| ID: lil-400957
ABSTRACT
Hepatitis C (HCV) is not an uncommon feature in hemodialysis (HD) patients and may be a cause of systemic inflammation. Plasma cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) is mainly produced by circulating and peripheral cells and induces the hepatic synthesis of C-reactive protein (CRP), which is the main acute phase reactant. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of HCV on two markers of systemic inflammation, serum CRP and IL-6, in HD patients. The study included 118 HD patients (47 percent males, age 47 ± 13 years, 9 percent diabetics) who had been treated by standard HD for at least 6 months. The patients were divided into two groups depending on the presence (HCV+) or absence (HCV-) of serum antibodies against HCV. Serum albumin (S-Alb), plasma high sensitivity CRP (hsCRP), IL-6, and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were measured and the values were compared with those for 22 healthy controls. Median hsCRP and IL-6 values and hsCRP/IL-6 ratio were 3.5 vs 2.1 mg/l, P < 0.05; 4.3 vs 0.9 pg/ml, P < 0.0001, and 0.8 vs 2.7, P < 0.0001, for patients and controls, respectively. Age, gender, S-Alb, IL-6 and hsCRP did not differ between the HCV+ and HCV- patients. However, HCV+ patients had higher ALT (29 ± 21 vs 21 ± 25 IU/l) and had been on HD for a longer time (6.1 ± 3.0 vs 4.0 ± 2.0 years, P < 0.0001). Moreover, HCV+ patients had a significantly lower median hsCRP/IL-6 ratio (0.7 vs 0.9, P < 0.05) compared to the HCV- group. The lower hsCRP/IL-6 ratio in HCV+ patients than in HCV- patients suggests that hsCRP may be a less useful marker of inflammation in HCV+ patients and that a different cut-off value for hsCRP for this population of patients on HD may be required to define inflammation.
Full text:
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Index:
LILACS (Americas)
Main subject:
C-Reactive Protein
/
Renal Dialysis
/
Hepatitis C
/
Hepacivirus
/
Hepatitis C Antibodies
Type of study:
Etiology study
/
Incidence study
/
Observational study
/
Risk factors
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Aged
/
Aged80
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
South America
/
Brazil
Language:
English
Journal:
Braz. j. med. biol. res
Journal subject:
Biology
/
Medicine
Year:
2005
Type:
Article
/
Project document
Affiliation country:
Brazil
/
Sweden
Institution/Affiliation country:
Faculdade Evangélica de Medicina do Paraná/BR
/
Karolinska University Hospital at Huddinge/SE
/
Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná/BR
/
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul/BR
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