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Perinatal hepatitis B virus infection caused by antihepatitis Be positive maternal mononuclear cells

Article Abstract:

Hepatitis is a disease that involves inflammation of and damage to the liver. It can be caused by infection with a virus or by ingestion of certain toxic agents. Hepatitis associated with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) can occur following blood transfusions with infected blood and it can be passed across the placenta from mother to fetus. Infants born to mothers with hepatitis are treated with immunoglobulins and a vaccine. This has been shown to be effective in preventing hepatitis in 90 to 95 percent of the infants born to mothers with hepatitis. However, infants born to mothers who are carriers of HBV (mothers who have been exposed to HBV but do not show signs of disease) are not given preventative treatment with immunoglobulins and vaccines. It is estimated that 10 percent of the infants born to mothers who are HBV carriers will develop hepatitis. Therefore, a test is needed to identify infants who are at risk of developing hepatitis from mothers who are carriers of HBV. In an attempt to develop such a test, 28 mothers known to be HBV carriers and their 29 infants were studied. Blood samples were examined for the presence of HBV DNA (the genetic material), using a technique known as the polymerase chain reaction that allows very small amounts of DNA to be analyzed. Three of 28 the mothers had HBV DNA in their blood cells. These three mothers gave birth to four infants, of whom two were given preventive treatment with immunoglobulins and vaccine and two were not treated. The two who were not treated developed hepatitis, while the two who were treated did not. The 25 infants who were born to the mothers who did not have HBV DNA in their blood cells did not develop hepatitis. It is concluded that the presence of HBV DNA in maternal blood cells may identify infants at risk for developing hepatitis and that these infants should be given preventive treatment with immunoglobulins and vaccines. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Measurement, Prevention, DNA, Disease transmission, Polymerase chain reaction, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis B virus, Hepatitis, Neonatal, Neonatal hepatitis

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HIV-1 infection in a cohort of haemophilic patients

Article Abstract:

The development of infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was assessed in 53 patients aged 5 to 20 years with hemophilia, an hereditary blood disorder characterized by prolonged blood coagulation time. The patients were evaluated clinically and by assessment of laboratory findings for an average of 30 months. Two patients died of AIDS during the evaluation period and the clinical condition of 32 other patients deteriorated. The numbers of helper cells, a type of immune cell, decreased in 19 patients, and the ratios of helper cells to lymphocytes, a measure of immune status, decreased in 45 patients. Twenty-nine of 46 patients had lymphocytes (immune cells) that were infected with HIV type 1. The ability to culture HIV-1 under laboratory conditions increased as the disease got more severe. HIV infection developed considerably in hemophiliac children and adolescents during the evaluation period, and the transition from HIV disease without symptoms to immunodeficiency, or a decrease in immune function, was easily detected. The onset of deterioration of the immune system can be identified by a decrease in the ratio of helper cells to lymphocytes. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Complications and side effects, Prognosis, Hemophilia

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Human Kupffer cells infected with HIV-1 in vivo

Article Abstract:

HIV type 1 (HIV-1) may infect human Kupffer cells (KC). KCs are large star- or pyramid-shaped macrophages that line the inside of the liver. Macrophages are cells of the immune system that engulf foreign particles and remove them from circulation. Researchers examined cells of the immune system from the blood and liver tissue of seven AIDS patients who died. KCs and peripheral blood monocytes from three patients were infected with HIV-1, and those from four patients were not. Infection of KCs occurred only when peripheral blood monocytes were also infected. More information is needed on the role of macrophages in the development and progression of HIV infection.

Liver, Macrophages

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