DETECTION OF HEPATITIS-C VIRUS GENOMIC SEQUENCES IN THE CEREBROSPINAL-FLUID OF HIV-INFECTED PATIENTS

To assess the presence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the central nervo us system (CNS), HCV-RNA was sought in paired serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples of 21 HIV/HCV-positive patients: HCV-RNA was detec ted in the serum of 19/21 patients (90.4%), and in the CSF of five of the 19 serum-positive patients. The presence of HCV-RNA was confirmed in follow-up CSF samples available for three of these five patients. A n identical HCV genotype was found in the paired serum/CSF samples. No correlation was found between the different genotypes and the presenc e of HCV in CSF of the individual patients. HCV viremia levels measure d by branched-DNA and quantitative PCR were not significantly higher i n the CSF-positive cases than in the CSF-negative cases (P = 0.3, usin g b-DNA; 0.5, using quantitative PCR). This report shows the presence of HCV in CSF and raises the possibility that the CNS may act as a res ervoir site for HCV. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.