[Incidence of HBAg in various liver diseases (comparison between radioimmunologic methods and methods of passive hemagglutination)]. / Frequenza dell'HBAg in varie epatopatie (confronto tra metodiche radioimmunologiche e metodiche di emoagglutinazione passiva)

In order to determine the frequency of HBAg in Campania, the AA. have examined a large number of liver patients accurately selected and subdivided in five classes: acute hepatitis, chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, hepatocarcinoma, and various liver diseases. They have employed radioimmuno assays (RIA) with human and guinea pig antibodies and techniques of passive haemoagglutination. The percentage of HBAg positive subjects among the various classes of liver diseases determined with these techniques is significantly higher than the one remarked by the AA. in 1972 by electrosineresis on the same population. Both RIA and haemoagglutination supply satisfactory results, although for haemoagglutination one must remember the subjectiveness of the reading.

[Variations of functional parameters in chronic aggressive HBAg positive and negative hepatitis by means of radioimmunologic method (preliminary note)]. / Variazioni dei parametri funzionali nelle epatiti croniche aggressive HBAg positive e negative con metodo radioimmunologico (nota preliminare)

43 subjects, affected by chronic aggressive hepatitis (CAH) have been divided into two groups according to the presence of HBAg. No statistically significant differences between the two groups have been provided. The two classes of subjects (HBAg + and -) were also divided into the already treated (with immunosuppressive drugs) and untreated to investigate the eventual differences existing between the two classes. The results of this division was that previously treated subjects present a lower total bilirubin (P less than 0.05) in respect to those that were not treated previously. The results of all the other comparisons carried out and the tested correlations were negligible. In conclusion, bearing in mind the inadequate methods used up to now to research the HBAg, the transversal studies show that CAH patients are both affected by the same syndrome, whether the HBAg is positive or negative. However, it is probable that it is not the carrier state of HBAg which enables the liver disease evolution but the liver disease itself enables the cellular immunity disorders that often appear in the course of CAH.