The bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which contributes to the development of ulcers and stomach cancer, worsens the health of the liver in patients with hepatitis C, researchers in Egypt observed.
They presented their findings at the 21st Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL) conference held February 17-20 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Scientists from the University of the Suez Canal in Cairo conducted research in a group of 60 patients with chronic hepatitis C (HCV). It is an illness caused by the HCV virus. It develops insidiously and gradually damages the liver, causing it to become fibrotic. If left untreated, it can lead to cirrhosis and liver failure, and even cancer of this organ.
Hepatitis C is – together with hepatitis B – the cause of 80 percent. cases of primary liver cancer in the world. Helicobacter pylori infection affects half of the world’s population and is usually asymptomatic. In 10-15 percent However, the infected bacteria cause duodenal and stomach ulcers. In a small percentage, stomach ulcers can initiate cancer development.
To see if the infection with the bacterium could affect the condition and function of the liver of patients with hepatitis C, scientists in Egypt assessed the level of liver enzymes (aspartate aminotransferase – AST and alanine aminotransferase – ALT), they also examined microscopically samples of tissue taken from the liver by biopsy and marked the presence of H. pylori DNA in them.
Almost 62 percent of the respondents had antibodies against this bacterium in the body, which may indicate an infection with H. pylori – current or past, because the antibodies remain in the blood and saliva even two years after getting rid of it. The presence of bacterial DNA was found in 6 patients (10%)
The researchers calculated that advanced liver fibrosis, the process of replacing liver cells with connective tissue fibers, was not more common in patients with H. pylori antibodies. However, it was much more common in those patients with bacterial DNA detected in the liver. Liver cirrhosis was also found more frequently in this group.
The authors of the study emphasize that the results of these studies have yet to be confirmed in a larger group of patients, suggesting that infection of liver cells with H. pylori bacterium worsens the condition of the liver in HCV-infected people.
It is estimated that 170 million people worldwide suffer from hepatitis C, in Poland this number is estimated at 700, and only 2% are diagnosed. patients.
HCV is mainly transmitted through the blood. In Poland, 80 percent. this condition has to do with medical procedures such as injections or blood sampling. Treatments at the beautician’s, piercing, tattoos, and dental treatments are also an important route of infection.
The risk of sexual transmission is relatively low – it increases with the number of partners. Breastfeeding does not pose a risk of transmission of the virus to the newborn.
There is currently no vaccine against HCV, but a chronic infection that is detected early enough can be treated. The cure rate reaches 50-80 percent. depending on the genotype of HCV.
The symptoms accompanying an infection are not typical: apathy, weakness, irritability or flu-like symptoms. Therefore, doctors encourage testing for the presence of antibodies against the virus. The cost of such a test is approximately PLN 35-40. (PAP)