title: HBsAg-negative chronic active hepatitis related to hepatitis B virus.
abstract: Numerous cases of chronic hepatitis have been shown to be closely associated with persistent infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV). A group of 100 patients suffering from chronic active hepatitis (CAH) was investigated for HBV serologic markers. Of these, 35 patients were HbsAg-positive; in 26 HBsAg-negative subjects, anti-HBc were detected using counterimmune electrophoresis and complement-fixation tests. These data suggest that chronic liver disease in patients who were only anti-HBc-positive might be related to persistent infection with hepatitis B virus. Epidemiological clinical and histopathological data were different when we compared CAH patients who were HBsAg-negative, but anti-HBc-positive, with HBsAg-positive CAH patients. A sequence is proposed leading from HBsAg-positive to HBsAg-negative CAH, cirrhosis, and hepatoma in temperate areas, according to a model similar to the one described in intertropical Africa.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000209:etiology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies / Q000032:analysis; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000276:immunology*; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000209:etiology; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens