Autoimmune Diseases Co-Existing with Hepatitis C Virus Infection

Autoimmunity and viral infections are closely associated fields, and viruses have been proposed as a likely aetiological, contributory or triggering factors of systemic autoimmune diseases. hepatitis c virus seems to be the virus usually associated with the appearance of autoimmune diseases, and the relationship between chronic hepatitis c virus infection and some autoimmune disease has been studied. for some of these disorders their association with hepatitis c virus infection is well recognized while for others it remains probable or weak. examples of autoimmune phenomena observed in chronic hepatitis c virus infection include rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid disease, cryoglobulinaemia, immune thrombocytopenic purpura, systemic lupus erythematosus and sjogren syndrome. to date, the etiological role and the pathogenetic involvement of the hepatitis c infection remains unknown.the aim of this study is to assess the presence of different autoimmune manifestations of hepatitis c virus infection reported in literature.