Hepatitis C virus infection of peripheral nerves in type II cryoglobulinaemia

Peripheral neuropathy is a frequent complication in patients suffering from type II mixed cryoglobulinaemia (mCGII), a sort of vasculitis that is stro ngly associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and characterised by high concentrations of anti-HCV antibodies and HCV RNA in the cryoprecipit ates. We report the finding of HCV RNA in homogenates of nerve biopsies fro m five such patients, by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (R T-PCR) amplification of different regions of the viral genome. HCV RNA was localized in epineurial cells by in situ RT-PCR. Our data suggest that HCV infection of nerves plays a major role in mCGII-associated neuropathy.