Prevalence and outcomes of acute hepatitis B in Okayama, Japan, 2006-2010.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the major viruses causing acute hepatitis. Recently, the incidence of acute hepatitis with genotype A has been increasing in Japan. The aim of this study was to investigate acute hepatitis B (AHB) in Okayama prefecture, with special attention to HBV genotype A. AHB patients who visited one of 12 general hospitals in Okayama prefecture between 2006 and 2010 were retrospectively analyzed. Over the course of the study period, 128 patients were diagnosed with AHB. Sexual transmission was supposed in the majority of patients (78 patients, 61%), including 59 (76%) having sex with heterosexual partners. The genotypes of HBV were assessed in 90 patients (70%), of whom 27 patients were infected with genotype A, 5 with genotype B, and 58 with genotype C. The prevalence of genotype A was significantly higher among male patients (28.7%), aged 20-29 (35.6%, p＜0.01), among men who had sex with men (100%, p＜0.005), and among patients having sex with unspecified partners (44.8%, p＜0.005). Genotype A was not a significant factor associated with delayed HBsAg disappearance. Caution should be exercised with regard to sexually transmissible diseases in order to slow the pandemic spread of AHB due to genotype A.

A male patient with ferroportin disease B and a female patient with iron overload similar to ferroportin disease B.

Reticuloendothelial iron overload is associated with secondary hemochromatosis including repeated transfusions and iron over-supplementation. Ferroportin disease B is a severe subtype of hereditary iron overload syndrome with an activated reticuloendothelial system. The iron exporter ferroportin may be insensitive to hepcidin 25 in this subtype. However, the interactions between the hepcidin-ferroportin system and modifiers of reticuloendothelial iron overload have not yet been elucidated. We describe two patients with iron overload conditions that were compatible with ferroportin disease B, but their genetic backgrounds and habitual states differed. Both patients had diabetes, periportal fibrosis with severe iron deposits in their hepatocytes and Kupffer cells, and adequate levels of circulating hepcidin 25. However, the first patient was heterozygous for a mutation in the FP gene and free from the acquired factors of iron overload, while the second patient was a heavy drinker with a heterozygous mutation in the TFR2 gene and no mutations in the FP gene. The first patient was the second reported case of ferroportin disease B in Japan. Our study on these 2 patients suggests that liver fibrosis associated with compound iron overload of reticuloendothelial cells and hepatocytes may occur via multi-etiological backgrounds.

Drug-induced hepatitis with hepatic granuloma due to saridon.

A 38-year-old Japanese woman with no past history of liver disease developed liver dysfunction associated with fever, anorexia, and general malaise following the prolonged administration of saridon. A liver biopsy demonstrated multiple noncaseating epithelioid granulomas within hepatic lobules, with an inflammatory cell infiltrate of the lobular parenchyma and portal tracts. Viral markers and autoantibodies were negative. Lymphocyte stimulation tests for saridon and for isopropylantipyrine, one of the constituents of saridon, were positive, and therefore a diagnosis of drug-induced hepatitis due to administration of saridon was made. Her symptoms resolved and liver function test results returned to normal following discontinuation of the drug. The possibility of drug-induced hepatitis must be considered when liver dysfunction or systemic symptomatology develops during saridon therapy.