Abstract
Chronic hepatitis C has been demonstrated to be associated with hepatic iron overload, and the hypothesis that the disease activity of hepatitis C is associated with iron cytotoxicity was tested in male volunteer blood donors. Sera with either antibody to hepatitis C virus or hepatitis B surface antigen were selected for determination of ferritin concentration and alanine aminotransferase activity. A correlation between serum ferritin concentration (Y; μg/l) and alanine aminotransferase activity (X; IU/l) was found in donors with antibody to hepatitis C (logY=0.65 × logX+0.98,r=0.53, andP<0.01). The correlation was lower in donors with hepatitis B surface antigen (r=0.37;P<0.01). Hepatitis C virus infection probably induces time-dependent iron accumulation associated with the progression of disease activity, while hepatitis B virus infection results in a variety of iron loads with different clinical features. The high disease activity related to hyperferritinemia suggests the presence of iron-induced liver damage in donors with hepatitis C.
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Takikawa, T., Hayashi, H., Nishimura, N. et al. Correlation between serum levels of alanine aminotransferase and ferritin in male blood donors with antibody to hepatitis C virus. J Gastroenterol 29, 593–597 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02365441
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02365441