HEPATITIS - C VIRUS INFECTION, ENHANCING SILENT EPEDEMIC OF CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE

Abstract

Hepatitis C virus, small, single stranded, RNA virus,
identified for the first time in 1989, is a major health
care concern worldwide but more so in developing
countries like Pakistan.It has become increasingly evident that HCV
infection is a systemic disease and can induce
diseases of many organs. Hepatitis C related
vasculitic, metabolic and endocrinal disorders have
drawn attention of many researchers.Coronary artery disease is the most common
heart disease with multifactorial etiology.
Atherosclerosis being the principal cause has plagued
human kind since ancient times.The mechanism for the development of angiitis
may be either direct colonization of vasculature by
the pathogens19 or a stimulation of an inflammatory
cascade20, causing changes in the vessel wall, such as
thickening, weakening, narrowing and scarring.HCV infection induces steatosis and increases TNF-,
both resulting in the development of insulin
resistance and subsequent type 2 diabetes mellitus.It is common in HCV associated membranous
proliferative glomerulonephritis, present in majority
of the patients at the onset of the disease and is often
severe and difficult to control.