title: Cryoglobulinaemia associated with hepatitis C virus: influence of HCV genotypes, HCV-RNA viraemia and HIV coinfection.
abstract: To determine whether the clinical and immunological expression of patients with cryoglobulinaemia associated with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection varied according to HCV-RNA load, HCV genotype or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfection. We studied 340 HCV patients (188 women and 152 men, with a mean age of 49 years) consecutively diagnosed with cryoglobulinaemia between 1993 and 2003 in our hospital. HCV infection was confirmed by serum HCV-RNA determination in all patients. Two hundred and forty-eight (73%) patients had asymptomatic cryoglobulinaemia and 92 (27%) presented cryoglobulinaemic symptoms. Patients with genotype 1 had a higher mean age at diagnosis of cryoglobulinaemia (48.2 vs 40.2 yrs, P < 0.001) and a higher prevalence of cryoglobulinaemic symptoms (25%vs 10%, P = 0.02), especially of vasculitic features (19%vs 5%, P = 0.014). In comparison with monoinfected HCV patients, those with HIV coinfection had a lower mean age at diagnosis of cryoglobulinaemia (40.4 vs 52.8 years, P < 0.001), a lower prevalence of cryoglobulinaemic symptoms (15%vs 34%, P < 0.001), vasculitis (10%vs 28%, P < 0.001), associated systemic autoimmune disease (3%vs 14%, P = 0.001), rheumatoid factor (30%vs 70%, P = 0.001) and hypocomplementaemia (50%vs 78%, P = 0.01). In HCV-HIV patients, a high viral load was associated with a high frequency of symptomatic cryoglobulinaemia, especially in patients with a high viral load of the two viruses (50%vs 7%, P = 0.001) A higher frequency of cryoglobulinaemic symptoms (especially vasculitis) was found in patients with HCV monoinfection and in those carrying HCV genotype 1. In contrast, patients with HIV coinfection presented a threefold lower prevalence of vasculitis. Associated HIV infection significantly attenuated the clinical and immunological expression of cryoglobulinaemia, except in coinfected patients with high viral loads for the two viruses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Autoimmune Diseases, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Hospital Clinic, Barcelona, Spain. mramos@clinic.ub.es
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ramos-Casals
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Forns
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brito-Zerón
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vargas
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Laguno
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yagüe
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Tapias
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gatell
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Font
mesh_terms: D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000473:pathology; D003449:Cryoglobulinemia / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006678:HIV; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000821:virology; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications* / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012217:Rheumatoid Factor / Q000032:analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D013030:Spain; D014657:Vasculitis / Q000473:pathology; D019562:Viral Load; D014766:Viremia / Q000150:complications
chemical_list: D012217:Rheumatoid Factor