Article révisé par les pairs
Résumé : Recently, evidence has been presented for a possible association between hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and essential mixed cryoglobulinemia (EMC). Eleven consecutive patients with EMC and two with cryoglobulinemia type I were examined for the presence of markers of HCV infection. Eleven of 13 patients (10 with EMC and 1 with type I cryoglobulinemia) had anti‐HCV antibodies (as determined by a second generation anti‐HCV assay) and HCV‐RNA in plasma or serum. HCV‐RNA was also detected in liver biopsies of five patients. Genotyping showed that HCV genotype 1 was found in 10 of 11 patients with HCV‐RNA (9 genotype 1b and 1 genotype 1a) and only one patient had HCV genotype 2. However, a similar high prevalence of genotype 1b (100%) was found in a group of 14 consecutive patients with chronic hepatitis C, who had no clinical evidence of cryoglobulinemia. Concomitant infection was present in three patients with genotypes 2, 3 and 4, respectively. These findings stress the high prevalence of HCV infection in patients with EMC and further study shows that a difference in genotype prevalence was not found between HCV‐related EMC and chronic hepatitis C without clinical manifestations of EMC. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. Copyright © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc., A Wiley Company

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