title: A case of vacuolar myopathy during the course of chronic hepatitis C.
abstract: Several cases of inflammatory myopathy have been reported during the chronic course of hepatitis C (HC) in recent years. It has been suggested that this muscular inflammatory involvement in HC is related to an immune-mediated mechanism caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV), as HCV RNA has been detected in the muscle of patients with concomitant inflammatory myopathy and chronic HC. Herein, we report on a patient with a history of chronic HC, who developed a slowly progressive proximal muscle weakness; muscle biospy revealed a vacuolar myopathy. Histological, immunohistochemical and biochemical study did not disclose any known cause of vacuolar myopathy. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a vacuolar myopathy during the course of HC. We suggest that it may be opportune to include HC among the possible aetiologies of vacuolar myopathy, should other reports confirm this association.
authors.affiliation: Departmento of Neurological Sciences, University of Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zoccolella
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Serlenga
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amati
authors.forename: Vito
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lavolpe
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Minerva
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Agremorz
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Toscano
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lamberti
mesh_terms: D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018908:Muscle Weakness / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D009135:Muscular Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D009220:Myositis / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D014617:Vacuoles / Q000473:pathology