Lack of Influence of Hepatitis G Virus Infection on Alcohol-Related Hepatic Lesions

Background: The purposes of this study were to analyse the prevalence and histologic impact of hepatitis G virus (HGV), a newly discovered virus, in alcoholic patients, a population known to be at risk for viral hepatitis. Methods: One hundred and thirty-nine consecutive alcoholics admitted to our l...

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Published in:Scandinavian journal of gastroenterology 1998, Vol.33 (11), p.1209-1212
Main Authors: TRAN, A, HASTIER, P, RAMPAL, P, BENZAKEN, S, LONGO, F, YANG, G, OUZAN, D, DURANT, J, FOLLANA, R, BUCKLEY, M, SAINT-PAUL, M. C, DOGLIO, A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Case-Control Studies
Female
Flaviviridae - immunology
Flaviviridae - isolation & purification
Hepatitis, Viral, Human - epidemiology
Hepatitis, Viral, Human - virology
Human viral diseases
Humans
Infectious diseases
Liver Diseases, Alcoholic - virology
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
Seroepidemiologic Studies
Viral diseases
Viral hepatitis
Viremia - epidemiology
Viremia - virology
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Summary:Background: The purposes of this study were to analyse the prevalence and histologic impact of hepatitis G virus (HGV), a newly discovered virus, in alcoholic patients, a population known to be at risk for viral hepatitis. Methods: One hundred and thirty-nine consecutive alcoholics admitted to our liver unit (106 men and 33 women; mean age, 47.1_10.9 years) were included in the study. All patients had consumed more than 60 g of ethanol per day for at least 1 year. One hundred healthy blood donors constituted a control group. Antibodies to HGV E2 protein and HGV-RNA testing by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with primers derived from the NS5 coding region were performed in all serum samples. Results: A significantly higher seroprevalence of anti-E2 antibodies was observed in alcoholic patients than in healthy blood donors (41 (29.5%) versus 8 (8%); P < 0.0001). Moreover, the prevalence of HGV-RNA was significantly higher in alcoholic patients (13 (9.3%) versus 1 (1%); P = 0.01). HGV-RNA and anti-HGV antibodies were never detected simultaneously. HGV viraemia was not associated with an increased risk of cirrhosis or hepatocarcinoma in alcoholic subjects. Conclusions: Our study reports a high prevalence of HGV in alcoholic patients. HGV infection does not modify or aggravate the course of alcoholic liver disease.
ISSN:0036-5521
1502-7708
DOI:10.1080/00365529850172584