[A comparative study of TTV co-infection in patients with chronic liver disease B, C and non-B non-C]

Abstract

The TTV DNA were examined in patients with chronic liver diseases B (n = 35), C (n = 44) and non-B non-C (n = 19). The clinical background, liver function and liver histological finding were compared in patients with or without TTV infection. The prevalence of TTV in patients with chronic liver diseases B, C and non-B non-C were 37.1%, 27.3% and 52.6%, respectively. There was no significant difference in liver function test between TTV positive and negative patients with chronic liver diseases B and C. The gamma-GTP level of TTV positive patients were significantly higher than that of TTV negative patients with chronic liver diseases non-B non-C. The histological findings were similar between patients with or without TTV infection. We concluded that even though the co-infection of TTV in patients with chronic liver diseases B and C was high, TTV does not act as a liver injury agent. The relationship between TTV and non-B non-C chronic liver diseases is unclear.