Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Hepatitis is acute if it resolves within six months, and chronic if it lasts longer than six months. Acute hepatitis can resolve on its own, progress to chronic hepatitis, or (rarely) result in acute liver failure. Chronic hepatitis may progress to scarring of the liver (cirrhosis), liver failure, and liver cancer.
Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection period, people often have mild or no symptoms. Early symptoms can include fever, dark urine, abdominal pain, and yellow tinged skin. The virus persists in the liver, becoming chronic, in about 70% of those initially infected. Early on, chronic infection typically has no symptoms. Over many years however, it often leads to liver disease and occasionally cirrhosis. In some cases, those with cirrhosis will develop serious complications such as liver failure, liver cancer, or dilated blood vessels in the esophagus and stomach.
Antinuclear antibodies are autoantibodies that bind to contents of the cell nucleus. In normal individuals, the immune system produces antibodies to foreign proteins (antigens) but not to human proteins (autoantigens). In some cases, antibodies to human antigens are produced.
Hepatotoxicity implies chemical-driven liver damage. Drug-induced liver injury is a cause of acute and chronic liver disease caused specifically by medications and the most common reason for a drug to be withdrawn from the market after approval.
Autoimmune hepatitis, formerly known as lupoid hepatitis, plasma cell hepatitis, or autoimmune chronic active hepatitis, is a chronic, autoimmune disease of the liver that occurs when the body's immune system attacks liver cells, causing the liver to be inflamed. Common initial symptoms may include fatigue, nausea, muscle aches, or weight loss or signs of acute liver inflammation including fever, jaundice, and right upper quadrant abdominal pain. Individuals with autoimmune hepatitis often have no initial symptoms and the disease may be detected by abnormal liver function tests and increased protein levels during routine bloodwork or the observation of an abnormal-looking liver during abdominal surgery.
Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), previously known as primary biliary cirrhosis, is an autoimmune disease of the liver. It results from a slow, progressive destruction of the small bile ducts of the liver, causing bile and other toxins to build up in the liver, a condition called cholestasis. Further slow damage to the liver tissue can lead to scarring, fibrosis, and eventually cirrhosis.
Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a long-term progressive disease of the liver and gallbladder characterized by inflammation and scarring of the bile ducts, which normally allow bile to drain from the gallbladder. Affected individuals may have no symptoms or may experience signs and symptoms of liver disease, such as yellow discoloration of the skin and eyes, itching, and abdominal pain.
Tienilic acid or ticrynafen (USAN) is a loop diuretic drug with uric acid-lowering (uricosuric) action, formerly marketed for the treatment of hypertension. It was approved by FDA on May 2, 1979, and withdrawn in 1982, after case reports in the United States indicated a link between the use of ticrynafen and hepatitis.
An autoantibody is an antibody produced by the immune system that is directed against one or more of the individual's own proteins. Many autoimmune diseases are associated with such antibodies.
Anti-mitochondrial antibodies (AMA) are autoantibodies, consisting of immunoglobulins formed against mitochondria, primarily the mitochondria in cells of the liver.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) co-infection is a multi-faceted, chronic condition that significantly impacts public health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 2 to 15% of those infected with HIV are also affected by HCV, increasing their risk of morbidity and mortality due to accelerated liver disease. The burden of co-infection is especially high in certain high-risk groups, such as intravenous drug users and men who have sex with men. These individuals who are HIV-positive are commonly co-infected with HCV due to shared routes of transmission including, but not limited to, exposure to HIV-positive blood, sexual intercourse, and passage of the Hepatitis C virus from mother to infant during childbirth.
Anti-actin antibodies (AAA) are found at increased frequency in certain autoimmune diseases and may be of some diagnostic value.
O-phosphoseryl-tRNA(Sec) selenium transferase is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the SEPSECS gene.
HLA A1-B8-DR3-DQ2 haplotype is a multigene haplotype that covers a majority of the human major histocompatibility complex on chromosome 6. A multigene haplotype is set of inherited alleles covering several genes, or gene-alleles; common multigene haplotypes are generally the result of descent by common ancestry. Chromosomal recombination fragments multigene haplotypes as the distance to that ancestor increases in number of generations.
Anti-double stranded DNA (Anti-dsDNA) antibodies are a group of anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) the target antigen of which is double stranded DNA. Blood tests such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunofluorescence are routinely performed to detect anti-dsDNA antibodies in diagnostic laboratories. They are highly diagnostic of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and are implicated in the pathogenesis of lupus nephritis.
Antithyroid autoantibodies (or simply antithyroid antibodies) are autoantibodies targeted against one or more components on the thyroid. The most clinically relevant anti-thyroid autoantibodies are anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies (anti-TPO antibodies, TPOAb), thyrotropin receptor antibodies (TRAb) and thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb). TRAb's are subdivided into activating, blocking and neutral antibodies, depending on their effect on the TSH receptor. Anti-sodium/iodide (Anti–Na+/I−) symporter antibodies are a more recent discovery and their clinical relevance is still unknown. Graves' disease and Hashimoto's thyroiditis are commonly associated with the presence of anti-thyroid autoantibodies. Although there is overlap, anti-TPO antibodies are most commonly associated with Hashimoto's thyroiditis and activating TRAb's are most commonly associated with Graves' disease. Thyroid microsomal antibodies were a group of anti-thyroid antibodies; they were renamed after the identification of their target antigen (TPO).
An anti-LKM antibody is any of several autoantibodies that are detected in the serum of patients with different types of acute or chronic liver disease. These antibodies are targeted against antigens of the cytochrome P450 system.
Infections of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in children and pregnant women are less understood than those in other adults. Worldwide, the prevalence of HCV infection in pregnant women and children has been estimated to 1-8% and 0.05-5% respectively. The vertical transmission rate has been estimated to be 3-5% and there is a high rate of spontaneous clearance (25-50%) in the children. Higher rates have been reported for both vertical transmission. and prevalence in children (15%).
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes refer to the genetic variations that occurs in the hepatitis C virus. Hepatitis C is a contagious disease that primarily affects the liver, causing severe damage as the disease progresses. It is caused by the Hepatitis C virus, a small, enveloped RNA virus. The transmission of hepatitis C is through the contact with the blood of the infected person, for example by sharing the needles or by using non-sterile medical equipment. HCV is transmitted globally because of the high infection rate and is also associated with a high mortality rate. The World Health Organization indicates the 3.3% of the world population is infected by the HCV virus. Statistical records show that there are about 13 million HCV affected persons in Сhina, 3.5 million affected persons in the United States, and about 10 million people are affected by HCV in Pakistan. In all cases, the viral genotype of the HCV stays the same, occasionally mutations do occur making the treatment more complex by targeting the changes in the genotype. Hepatitis C virus genotype is considered more common than the Hepatitis B virus infection contributing to more than a million cases annually and is considered one of the major reason for liver transplantation in United States. Some of the HCV genotypes may develop in people without symptoms leading to dangerous conditions like liver cirrhosis causing a permanent damage to liver and the unnoticed HCV conditions will affect brain, joints, blood vessels, bones, and kidneys.
Deirdre Kelly is an Irish clinician, academic, and author. She is Professor of Paediatric Hepatology at the University of Birmingham and Clinical Lead for National Paediatric Hepatitis C Operational Delivery Network. She chairs the Board of Pension Trustees at the General Medical Council and is a non-executive director at NHS Blood and Transplant.
