DOES THE PRESENCE OF SERUM AUTOANTIBODIES INFLUENCE THE RESPONSIVENESS TO INTERFERON-ALPHA-2A TREATMENT IN CHRONIC HEPATITIS-C

The serum autoantibodies, antinuclear antibody, anti-DNA antibody, ant i-smooth muscle antibody, antithyroglobulin antibody, antimicrosomal a ntibody, antimitochondrial antibody, rheumatoid factor and antibody to deoxyribonucleoprotein were measured at the baseline and on completio n of interferon-alpha 2a (IFN-alpha 2a) treatment in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients who did not present with any autoimmune disease prio r to treatment, Of the 57 patients examined, 27 spontaneously manifest ed at least one autoantibody. Only the prevalence of rheumatoid factor (26%) was significantly higher in the CHC patients than in the contro l subjects, There were no differences in the prevalence of the 8 autoa ntibodies examined between hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes, Ib and 2 a/2b, Twenty-six patients responded to IFN-alpha 2a, Subclinical hypot hyroidism developed in two patients with elevated antithyroid antibody titers during treatment, No relationship was observed between changes in the status of autoantibodies and either response to IFN-alpha 2a o r HCV genotype, Irrespective of the HCV genotype, autoantibodies might be present in CHC patients before and during the IFN-alpha 2a treatme nt, The presence of such antibodies does not represent a contraindicat ion to the use of IFN-alpha 2a in CHC patients not complicated by auto immune diseases, Careful observations are necessary for CHC patients p ositive for antithyroid antibodies during the IFN-alpha 2a treatment, Preexisting or newly developed autoantibodies do not necessarily predi ct a poor response to IFN-alpha 2a.