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Neurological Complications of Hepatitis C Infection

  • Infection (B Jubelt, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Though well-known as a cause of liver disease, Hepatitis C virus infection is emerging as a cause of a variety of peripheral and central nervous system disorders. The virus causes chronic persistent infection with complex immune responses in the majority of individuals. Viral infection may have the potential to generate neurological illness through direct infection of neural cells or through immune-mediated mechanisms, including enhancement of autoimmune responses. Moreover, the mainstay of antiviral treatment of hepatitis C infection, interferon-alpha, is itself associated with neurological morbidity. Thus neurologists are increasingly faced with diagnosing or even predicting a wide spectrum of neurological complications of hepatitis C infection and/or its treatment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neurology (127), Bruce Carter Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 1201 NW 16th Street, Miami, FL, 33125, USA

    Micheline McCarthy

  2. Department of Neurology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, 1120 NW 14th Street, Miami, FL, 33136, USA

    Micheline McCarthy & Melissa R. Ortega

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  1. Micheline McCarthy
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  2. Melissa R. Ortega
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Correspondence to Micheline McCarthy.

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McCarthy, M., Ortega, M.R. Neurological Complications of Hepatitis C Infection. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 12, 642–654 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-012-0311-6

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