       Document 0115
 DOCN  M9610115
 TI    Liver pathology in rural south-west Cameroon.
 DT    9601
 AU    Skalsky JA; Joller-Jemelka HI; Bianchi L; Knoblauch M; Manyemen General
       Hospital, Cameroon.
 SO    Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1995 Jul-Aug;89(4):411-4. Unique Identifier :
       AIDSLINE MED/96014733
 AB    In a prospective study, 102 hospital patients with liver disease were
       evaluated in West Cameroon, Africa. Blood donors, pregnant women and
       patients without liver disease served as controls. A total of 757
       individuals were tested for markers of hepatitis A, B, C and D and for
       immunological markers (autoantibodies, procollagen III,
       alpha-foetoprotein, CA50 antigen, alpha-1-antitrypsin and antibodies to
       human immunodeficiency virus types 1 and 2). One-third of the liver
       disease patients had focal lesions on ultrasound examination.
       Histologically, 20 cases of cirrhosis, 14 cases of chronic hepatitis, 15
       hepatocellular carcinomas and 17 cases of acute hepatitis were detected.
       All hepatic patients and virtually all controls had had a previous
       hepatitis A virus infection. Over 85% of adult patients and controls had
       at least one marker of hepatitis B virus infection. Over 30% of patients
       with liver disease had markers of possible hepatitis B virus
       replication. Antihepatitis C virus antibody was present in 18% of
       hepatic patients and in 6% of controls. Hepatitis C virus infection
       seems to play an important role in the development of chronic liver
       pathology; 40% of cirrhotic patients had a combined hepatitis B and C
       virus infection. Serum autoantibodies were frequently found and were not
       correlated with the presence of autoimmune liver disease.
 DE    Adolescence  Adult  Age Distribution  Aged  Aged, 80 and over
       Biological Markers  Cameroon/EPIDEMIOLOGY  Child  Child, Preschool
       Female  Health Status  Hepatitis, Viral, Human/EPIDEMIOLOGY/VIROLOGY
       Human  Infant  Liver Diseases/*EPIDEMIOLOGY/ETIOLOGY/IMMUNOLOGY  Liver
       Function Tests  Male  Middle Age  Prospective Studies  JOURNAL ARTICLE

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).

