[Research of hepatic pathology and clinical characteristics of patients chronic infected with hepatitis B virus in immune tolerant stage].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the characteristics of the hepatic pathological and clinical features of patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) in immune tolerant stage and find the better measure of diagnosing patients chronic infected by HBV in immune tolerant phase.


METHODS
135 patients with HBV chronic infection and persistently normal serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were involved in this study, whose serum HBeAg and HBV DNA were positive. Statistical analysis included the ages, sex, serum levels of HBVDNA, ALT and histological grade. The grades of inflammation and fibrosis were obtained through hepatic biopsy performed on all the patients.


RESULTS
Mean age in those patients was 22.61 +/- 8.95 years old. All those patients were divided into two groups according to histological grade: low- histological grade group, G < or = 1 and S < or = 1; and high-histological grade group, G > or = 2, S > or = to 2. Levels of histological grade were low in most of patients (99/135). Patients of low-histological grade had no difference in age, sex and family history of HBsAg carriers. Compared with low-normal ALT (ALT less than 30U/L), those with high-normal ALT (ALT > or = 30U/L) had a greater frequencies of high-histological grade. Compared with high HBVDNA (HBVDNA > or = 10(7) copies/ml), those with low HBVDNA (HBVDNA less than 10(7) copies/ml) had a greater frequencies of high-histological grade.


CONCLUSIONS
Levels of histological grade were low in most of patients with HBV chronic infection, serum HBeAg and HBVDNA positive, persistently normal serum ALT levels, but some of them were high-histological grade. It showed those patients were not all in immune tolerant stage of chronic HBV infection. Examination of ALT and HBVDNA are helpful to evaluate hepatic pathological damage for them.
You
Shao-li
SL
302 Hospital of PLA, Beijing 100039, China.
Xing
Han-qian
HQ
Liu
Hong-ling
HL
Rong
Yi-hui
YH
Zhu
Bin
B
Xin
Shao-jie
SJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
D004279:DNA, Viral; D000410:Alanine Transaminase