Necrotizing myopathy in a patient with chronic hepatitis C virus infection: a case report and a review of the literature.

Abstract

We describe a 61-year-old man presenting with necrotizing myopathy associated with chronic active hepatitis due to hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Thirteen patients with HCV-associated myopathy have been reported previously. In most of these cases, varying degrees of inflammatory changes were observed in the muscle tissue. In 2 patients, myopathy developed after initiation of interferon therapy for chronic HCV hepatitis. Our case was unusual due to long-standing elevation of creatine kinase values which improved following interferon therapy and the non-inflammatory features of the muscle tissue where the HCV RNA minus strand, a marker for replicative intermediates of the virus, was undetectable. The association of myopathy with HCV infection might represent a unique clinical entity, although the underlying pathological mechanisms remain unknown.

• Authors: J Satoh, Y Eguchi, T Narukiyo, T Mizuta, O Kobayashi, M Kawai, I Nonaka, Y Kuroda
• Journal: Internal medicine (Tokyo, Japan) (Intern Med) Vol. 39 Issue 2 Pg. 176-81 (Feb 2000) ISSN: 0918-2918 [Print] Japan
• PMID: 10732841 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article, Review)

Chemical References

• Hepatitis C Antibodies
• RNA, Viral

Topics

• Biopsy
• Diagnosis, Differential
• Electromyography
• Hepacivirus (genetics, immunology)
• Hepatitis C Antibodies (analysis)
• Hepatitis C, Chronic (complications, diagnosis, virology)
• Humans
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Muscle, Skeletal (pathology, physiopathology)
• Muscular Diseases (diagnosis, etiology)
• Necrosis
• RNA, Viral (analysis)
• Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction