CHRONIC HEPATITIS-C - EFFECT OF ALCOHOL ON HEPATITIC ACTIVITY AND VIRAL TITER

Background/Aims: Alcohol and the hepatitis C virus have been postulate d to interact to adversely affect the natural history of patients with chronic liver disease. The aim of this study was to examine the effec t of alcohol on hepatitic activity and serum HCV RNA levels in patient s with chronic hepatitis C, Methods: Forty-five consecutive patients w ith chronic hepatitis C were classified according to alcohol intake ov er the 3-month period preceding study entry: group 1 (n=23), >10 g alc ohol/day; group 2 (n=22), less than or equal to 10 g alcohol/day, Hepa titic activity and alcohol intake were assessed at study entry and, fo llowing moderation of alcohol intake, after a mean follow-up period of 4.4+/-0.2 months, Results: Hepatitic activity was significantly great er in the patients who consumed >10 g of alcohol/day, Moderation of al cohol consumption in patients consuming >10 g/day resulted in a signif icant decrease in both disease activity (p=0.0002) and viral RNA titre (p=0.018); there was no change over the study period in patients with a consistently low alcohol intake, Conclusion: The results support th e hypotheses that, in patients with chronic hepatitis C, alcohol aggra vates hepatic injury, increases viral load and adversely affects the n atural history of the associated liver disease.