Kobryn T. Chronic HCV-infection:aspects of diagnostic, long-term observation in the outpatient's management

The aim of this work was to investigate the epidemiological, clinical, biochemical (cytolytic and cholestatic syndromes) and immunological features (specific anti-HCV-antibody response, T-cells population) in 127 patients with different stages and different activity of HCV-infection (anti-HCV-positive individuals, patients with chronic hepatitis C, HCV-liver cirrhosis) at the baseline and during the long-term observation.The levels of TNF-a, sTNF RI and sTNF RII, DNA-fragmentation and caspase cleavage in peripheral blood mononuclear cells before and during a two week course of daily interferon therapy was determinate in patients with chronic hepatitis C in order to evaluate their regulation by IFN-a and their possible prognostic value for a virologic response to therapy. Detection of early caspase-9 cleavage followed by activation of caspase-3 in PBMC's and increase in histone-associated DNA-fragments could be a very early predictor for viral elimination by IFN-a2b therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C.