Chronic hepatitis B and liver schistosomiasis: a deleterious association.

BACKGROUND: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and schistosomiasis are prevalent in several countries, but the impact of this association is unknown. We aimed to investigate the prevalence and morbidity of this co-infection in Minas Gerais, an endemic area of schistosomiasis in Brazil. METHODS: In total, 406 adults with CHB (HBsAg positive >6 months) were included in a cross-sectional study. CHB was classified as replicative (HBV DNA ≥ 2.000 IU/ml), and low replicative or inactive hepatitis B carriers (HBV DNA <2.000 IU/ml). Schistosomiasis was confirmed by epidemiological and clinical records. Liver biopsies were scored by METAVIR. The risk of severe fibrosis was estimated by multivariate analysis. RESULTS: Of the 406 patients, 64.8% (263) were male, and the median age was 45 years (IQR 35-54). In total, 57.9% (235) had replicative CHB, and 31.5% (128) had cirrhosis. Schistosoma mansoni was confirmed in 30.5% (124) patients, 81.5% (101) of which were male with a median age of 47 years (IQR 39.5-54). Of the co-infected patients, 61.3% (76) and 38.7% (48) had replicative and inactive CHB, respectively. Schistosomal portal fibrosis (PF) was detected in 69.4% (86/124) patients. Patients with replicative CHB and schistosomal PF had more advanced fibrosis and severe inflammation compared with patients without schistosomal PF (80.8% vs 43.6% for METAVIR F3-F4, p<0.01; 64.0% vs 39.8% for METAVIR A2-A3, p < 0.01). Age >50 years (OR = 1.10; 95% CI 1.06-1.14, p<0.001), male gender (OR = 2.61, 95% CI 1.12-6.09, p = 0.03), schistosomal PF (OR = 4.56, 95% CI 2.10-9.91, p<0.001) and alcoholism (OR = 2.46, 95% CI 1.16-5.19, p = 0.02) were independently associated with cirrhosis. CONCLUSIONS: The association between replicative CHB and schistosomal PF can be a risk factor for more severe liver disease, which can result in deleterious outcomes for patients from endemic areas.

Phenotypic features of innate and adaptive immunity in patients with chronic hepatitis C and end-stage renal disease.

BACKGROUND: The knowledge of the immunological profile of patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on haemodialysis (HD) is still limited. AIMS: This study investigated the immune response profile in HCV patients with concomitant ESRD focusing on the influence of the renal disease on the phenotypic profile of peripheral blood lymphocytes. METHODS: Immunophenotypic features of peripheral blood leucocytes were assessed by flow cytometry in two distinct groups: HCV patients with ESRD (CHC+ESRD, n = 16) and HCV patients with normal renal function (CHC, n = 20). Two control groups that were included were as follows: HCV negative blood donors (BD, n = 15) and HCV negative patients with ESRD (ESRD, n = 19). RESULTS: Higher frequency of macrophage-like and pro-inflammatory monocytes along with enhanced frequency of CD3(-) CD16(-) CD56(+) , mainly CD56(dim) NK-cells, were the hallmark of CHC+ESRD patients. Lower frequency of B cells with significant decreased of B1 and CD23(+) B-cells were associated with ESRD, regardless the HCV infection. Although higher rates of activated CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells were observed in the CHC and CHC+ESRD groups, the chemotaxis of T-cell subsets, based on their chemokine receptor expression, was affected by ESRD. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic hepatitis C patients with ESRD on HD exhibit distinctive phenotypic profile of circulating leucocytes. It may be implicated in the natural history of HCV infection in this particular group of patients and warrants further investigation.

Câncer de esôfago: perfil das manifestações clínicas, histologia, localização e comportamento metastático em pacientes submetidos a tratamento oncológico em um centro de referência em Minas Gerais / Esophageal cancer: profile of clinical manifestations, histology, location and metastatic behavior in patients undergoing cancer treatment at a cancer center in Minas Gerais

O câncer de esôfago (CE) é uma neoplasia com uma incidência crescente, com taxas de mortalidade próximas às taxas de incidência. Sua etiologia está associada ao tipo histológico da doença, sendo o carcinoma de células escamosas o mais comum e fortemente relacionado ao tabagismo e etilismo, e o adenocarcinoma associado ao esôfago deBarrett. Além desses fatores sabidamente conhecidos, o risco de desenvolver este tumor está aumentado em pessoasque ingerem alimentos e bebidas quentes (mate) e que possuem nutrição deficiente (hipovitaminose A, C e E); hátambém uma predisposição genética que ainda é pouco definida. Manifestações clínicas comuns durante a evoluçãodessa doença incluem: disfagia, odinofagia, desconforto retroesternal, hiporexia, náusea, vômitos, emagrecimento.Tais queixas merecem uma avaliação criteriosa, pois, quando essas se manifestam, a doença já se encontra, na maioria das vezes, em um estágio avançado, não sendo possível uma abordagem curativa destes pacientes. Os protocolos de tratamento do CE incluem cirurgia, quimioterapia e radioterapia, mas o melhor tratamento ainda é motivo de estudos. Este trabalho teve como objetivo descrever e analisar o perfil das manifestações clínicas, a relaçãoentre o tipo histológico e a localização, idade e comportamento metastático e terapêutica, de pacientes portadores deCE submetidos a tratamento oncológico no Centro de Oncologia e Radioisótopos (COR), Ipatinga-MG. Foi feita análise retrospectiva dos prontuários de 109 pacientes com diagnóstico de CE, de maio de 2004 a fevereiro de 2007. Para cálculos estatísticos, foi utilizado o programa Epi Info 6.04d.