Hepatitis C And Autoimmunity: A Therapeutic Challenge

Bockle BC, Baltaci M, Ratzinger G, Graziadei I, Vogel W, Sepp NT (Innsbruck Medical University, Anichstrasse, Innsbruck, Austria). Hepatitis C and autoimmunity: a therapeutic challenge (Case Report). J Intern Med 2012; 271: 104106.Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection causes not only acute and chronic liver disease, but also extrahepatic symptoms. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of a patient who developed simultaneously sub-acute cutaneous lupus erythematosus and a small CD20+ B-cell clone because of chronic HCV infection and relapse after standard of care therapy (pegylated interferon plus ribavirin). Treatment with rituximab, a chimeric anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, was successful.