title: Hepatitis C and autoimmunity: a therapeutic challenge.
abstract: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection causes not only acute and chronic liver disease, but also extrahepatic symptoms. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of a patient who developed simultaneously subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus and a small CD20+ B-cell clone because of chronic HCV infection and relapse after standard of care therapy (pegylated interferon plus ribavirin). Treatment with rituximab, a chimeric anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, was successful.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Innsbruck Internal Medicine II (Gastroenterology and Hepatology), Innsbruck Medical University, Anichstrasse, Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: B C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Böckle
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baltaci
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ratzinger
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Graziadei
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Vogel
authors.forename: N T
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Sepp
mesh_terms: D015551:Autoimmunity; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008178:Lupus Erythematosus, Cutaneous / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged