%0 Journal Article
%T Autoimmunity and Extrahepatic Manifestations in Treatment-Na£żve Children with Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection
%A Giuseppe Indolfi
%A Elisa Bartolini
%A Biagio Olivito
%A Chiara Azzari
%A Massimo Resti
%J Clinical and Developmental Immunology
%D 2012
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2012/785627
%X Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has been associated with autoimmunity and extrahepatic manifestations in adults. Few data are available on these topics in children. Nonorgan specific auto-antibodies development is part of the natural course of chronic hepatitis C in children. Smooth muscle autoantibody is the most common autoantibody found, while liver-kidney microsomal type-1 antibody positivity is the most peculiar autoimmune feature of children with HCV infection. The clinical significance of non-organ specific autoantibodies in the course of paediatric chronic hepatitis C is still debated. Autoantibody positivity can be considered neutral for most patients, while it can be associated with negative connotations for others, especially those positive for liver-kidney microsomal type-1 autoantibody. Subclinical hypothyroidism but not autoimmune thyroiditis has been demonstrated in HCV infection in children, while only few cases of HCV-associated membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis have been described. Single reports are available in the literature reporting the anecdotal association between chronic hepatitis C and other extrahepatic manifestations such as myopathy and opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome. Despite the low incidence of extrahepatic manifestations of chronic hepatitis C in children, overall, available data suggest a careful monitoring.
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/cdi/2012/785627/