For 40 adult patients with CHC Or. I; 21 with normal ALT and Or. II; of 19 with elevated ALT levels togetherwith 20 trols Or. III.
Results showed that Gr.I and Or. II
serum CK-18 fragments levels were
significantly correlated with age and
was higher than that of Or. III
(p<0.05) but lower than in Or. II
(p<0.05).There was a statistically
significant positive correlation
(p<0.05) between serum CK-18 and
ALT and AST levels (p < 0.05 and <
0.01 ,respectively) in Gr.I & Gr.II and
also highly significant positive
correlation with HCV-RNA- load
(p<0.001).Liver biopsies in Gr.1
showed METAVIR (Al) activity in 17
out of 21 patients and fibrosis (F2)
was significantly higher than in
Gr.I1(p<0.05). while those with (F3)
showed no such difference A
statistically positive correlation
(P<0.05) was observed betwet--n CK-
18 and METAVIR necroinflamatory
grade (A) and fibrosis stage (F).
In conclusion, in CHC patients
with persistently normal ALT, serum
CK-18 fragments level is increased
and correlates with the
necroinfiammatory changes in liver
tissue as well as the viral load. |
