Viral RNA in nerve tissues
of patients with hepatitis C infection and peripheral neuropathy.
De Martino L, Sampaolo S, Tucci C, Ambrosone L, Budillon A, Migliaresi S, Di Iorio G.
Department of Neurological Sciences, Second University of Naples, 80131 Naples, Italy.
To assess the presence of viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) in nerve tissues of 15 patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and peripheral neuropathy with (11) or without (4) mixed cryoglobulinemia, nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed. Amplification of HCV-RNA was successful in 7 patients with and 3 without mixed cryoglobulinemia.
This study demonstrates that the nested RT-PCR technique is a sensitive method to detect viral RNA in nerve tissue, and offers further evidence that in patients with HCV infection peripheral neuropathy can occur in the absence of mixed cryoglobulinemia.
