Antiphospholipid antibodies are a type of autoanti-thematosus and other autoimmune disorders but are bodies that have been implicated in the occurrence of being increasingly detected in patients without apparthrombocytopenia and thrombotic events and have been ent underlying autoimmune disease. 3,4 These autoantidescribed in autoimmune disorders and diverse viral bodies are strongly associated with recurrent spontanediseases. In this study anticardiolipin antibodies (immuous abortions, thrombocytopenia, and thrombotic noglobulin G [IgG] isotype) were determined in serum events including deep venous thrombosis with or withfrom 100 patients with chronic hepatitis C and 52 out pulmonary embolism, portal or hepatic vein thromhealthy controls. In addition, hepatitis C virus (HCV) bosis, large vessel arterial occlusions, myocardial inmarkers (anti-HCV and HCV RNA) were investigated in 73 patients with thrombotic disorders and no clinical farction, fixed or transient cerebral ischemic events, evidence of liver disease; of these patients 37 cases tested retinal arterial and venous occlusions, ischemic optic negatively for anticardiolipin antibodies and 36 posineuropathy, Degos disease, and nonbacterial thromtively. Anticardiolipin test was positive more frequently botic verrucous endocarditis. [3][4][5][6][7][8] The combination of per-(22%) in the group of patients with chronic hepatitis C sistently positive antiphospholipid test results with than in healthy controls (1.9%; P รต .001). Using condiany of these clinical manifestations is known as the tional logistic-regression analysis we found that in hepaantiphospholipid antibody syndrome. 9 This syndrome, titis C patients the presence of thrombocytopenia, portal which can be part of the clinical spectrum of systemic hypertension and the existence of prior thrombotic epilupus erythematosus, can also occur in patients with sodes were significantly related to positivity for anticardiolipin antibodies (P รต .05 in all cases). In patients with no connective tissue disease, and for these cases the no evidence of liver disease and a history of thrombotic term primary antiphospholipid syndrome has been events, hepatitis C markers were absent in all cases who suggested. Antiphospholipid antibodies of the immunotested negatively for anticardiolipin antibodies (n ร
37), globulin (Ig) G isotype show the strongest association but were present in 16.7% of those positive for anticardwith symptomatic disease. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]
iolipin (n ร
36) (P ร
.01). In conclusion, anticardiolipin
Anticardiolipin antibodies have been detected in a antibodies are frequently found in patients with chronic variety of infectious diseases, particularly of viral orihepatitis C and in these patients they may be implicated gin, such as human immunodeficiency virus infection, in the occurrence of thrombosis and in the development of thrombocytopenia. Occult HCV infection is present mumps, and hepatitis A. 10,11 However there are no data in a significant proportion of patients with thrombotic concerning the prevalence of anticardiolipin antibodies disorders and positive for anticardiolipin (the antiphosin hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, a process associpholipid syndrome). (HEPATOLOGY 1996;23:199-204.) ated with the presence of serum autoantibodies 12,13 and with the development of immunologic disturbances Lupus anticoagulant and anticardiolipin antibodies such as mixed cryoglobulinemia 14 and immune thrombelong to a family of related autoantibodies with an bocytopenia. 15 affinity for anionic phospholipids. 1,2 Antiphospholipid This study analyzes the prevalence of anticardiolipin antibodies have been reported in systemic lupus eryantibodies in chronic HCV infection and the prevalence of HCV markers in patients with no liver disease and history of thrombotic disease divided according to the Abbreviations: Ig, immunoglobulin; HCV, hepatitis C virus; ALT, alanine transaminase; GPL, gamma phospholipid unit; ASMA, anti-smooth muscle anti-presence or absence of anticardiolipin antibodies. Our body.
data indicate that HCV infection is associated with the