Low vitamin D levels are associated with the presence of serum cryoglobulins in patients with chronic HCV infection.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Mixed Cryoglobulinemia (MC) represents the most frequent extrahepatic manifestation of chronic Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection. Its pathogenic mechanisms involve HCV-induced chronic stimulation of B-lymphocytes. We aimed to investigate the relationship between serum levels of vitamin D (a regulator of immune response) and the presence of serum cryoglobulins in the setting of HCV infection. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We evaluated the serum concentration of 25(OH)vitamin D and cryoglobulins in 106 patients with chronic HCV infection. RESULTS: Thirty patients (28.3%) showed the presence of serum cryoglobulins. For the cohort overall, the median serum 25(OH)vitamin D level was 10.95 ng/ml. Patients with serum cryoglobulins had significantly lower levels of 25(OH)vitamin D (5.61 ng/ml) than those without (13.65 ng/ml, p=0.029). At multivariate analysis, severe hypovitaminosis [i.e. 25(OH)vitamin D <13 ng/ml] was the only independent predictor of cryoglobulinemia (odds ratio=3.108). CONCLUSION: Severe deficiency of vitamin D was independently associated with mixed cryoglobulinemia in patients with HCV infection.

Human platelet antigen-3 genotype predicts platelet count in patients with HCV infection.

BACKGROUND/AIM: A low platelet count is one of the most sensitive tests for cirrhosis detection in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. We evaluated whether the human platelet antigen (HPA) genotype could predict platelet count in HCV-positive patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We genotyped the HPA 1, 2, 3, 5 and 15 polymorphisms in consecutive patients with HCV infection. RESULTS: Out of the 56 patients enrolled, 56.1% had liver cirrhosis. The mean platelet count was significantly lower in those with HPA1aa genotype than in those with HPA1ab/bb genotype. Platelet count did not differ among the other HPA polymorphisms. However, at logistic regression analysis, only the HPA3aa genotype and liver cirrhosis were independent predictors of a low platelet count. CONCLUSION: HPA3aa is an independent factor for a low platelet count in this cohort of patients with HCV chronic infection regardless of disease stage.