الفهرس 
Hepatitis C virusOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
H
epatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a chronic blood-borne disease that affects many individuals all over the world. The majority of individuals with HVC infection acquire a chronic hepatitis that predisposes them to the complications of cirrhosis and hepatoma.
Over the last decade, an increasing number of reports have suggested that chronic HCV infection is also associated with both direct and indirect effects on pulmonary tissue. While not all of these effects have been tightly linked to HCV infection, there are now sufficient studies available that warrant a review of the major pulmonary sequelae associated with chronic HCV infection. The direct effects of HCV on the lung may present as worsening of lung function in some patients with preexisting asthma and/or COPD. In other patients, HCV may present with an interstitial pneumonitis and/or pulmonary fibrosis.
Recently it was discovered that many of the pulmonary complications are not related to HCV only but Also there are pulmonary complications related to IFN therapy as IFN was documented to successfully treat chronic HCV infection very early after HCV was first isolated.
This discovery was soon followed by reports of cases of IFN-associated pulmonary complications.
There are also common IFN-related side effects such as symptoms consistent with a flu-like illness. Long-term side effects include fatigue, weight loss, reversible alopecia, hematologic abnormalities, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Autoimmune phenomena also may develop.
So our aim is to reflect the effect of interferon therapy on the lung functions in patients with HCV including smokers and non-smokers patients.
Thus this study was conducted on 30 cases HCV POSITIVE on interferon therapy (Group I) and other 30 cases HCV POSITIVE not on interferon therapy will be included as a control group (Group II).
Pulmonary function tests were done at 0 and 6 months from the beginning, for all patients as a whole and also further for smokers and non smokers groups.
We then analyzed our results and discovered the effect of interferon on the lung in patients suffering from hepatitis C virus
In the present study there was abnormal impairment of pulmonary function tests, FEV1, FEF, FVC and DLCO were statistically significantly decreased after 6 months of interferon in Group I compared to Group II after 6 months without interferon by using paired t-test, chest x ray fibrosis level was statistically significantly increased after 6 months of interferon in Group I compared to Group II after 6 months without interferon by using paired t-test.
Among non smoker group in the present study, there was impairment of pulmonary function tests FEV1 , FVC, and FEF after interferon in comparison to functions before interferon with statistically highly significant difference. On the other hand there is no significant difference as regard FEV1/FVC.
Also in the present study among smoker group, shows impairment of pulmonary function tests FEV1, FVC, and FEF after interferon in comparison to functions before interferon with statistically highly significant difference . On the other hand there is no significant difference as regard FEV1/FVC.
Several pathophysiological mechanisms have been proposed to explain the lung damage produced by IFN. These mechanisms are focused around the known immunomodulatory activity of IFN.
Proposed mechanisms for the activity and pulmonary toxicity associated with IFN include inhibition of suppressor T cells, enhancement of cytotoxic T cells, induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and exaggerated release of fibrinogenic cytokines, such as platelet-derived growth factor and transforming growth factor-β, leading to lung tissue fibrosis.
These findings reflect that IFN therapy induces abnormal impairment of pulmonary function tests in patients with chronic hepatitis C, smoking has no influence on pulmonary function changes in patients receiving interferon.