HBV and HCV infection, polyarteritis nodosa and mixed cryoglobulinaemia: Acase report

HCV infection has been associated with a broad spectrum of extrahepatic man ifestations. Ln some of these, such as mixed cryoglobulinaemia (MC), the as sociation is firmly established, whereas in others, such as polyarteritis n odosa (PAN), it is anecdotal, in fact, in this disorder the importance of t he association is controversial, since it seems to be related to the freque nt coinfection of HBV and HCV. The pathogenesis of MC and PAN is far from c lean but recent developments have added a plethora of information on the me chanisms underlying these disorders. Although both could be induced by a vi ral infection the pathophysiological processes underlying the two diseases are different. We describe the occurrence in the same patient of HBV-relate d PAN and HCV-related MC.