PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Francesco G. De Rosa
AU  - György Ábel
AU  - Vincent Agnello
TI  - Observations on Cryoglobulin Testing: II. The Association of Oligoclonal Mixed Cryoglobulinemia with Cirrhosis in Patients Infected with Hepatitis C Virus
AID  - 10.3899/jrheum.090189
DP  - 2009 Jun 16
TA  - The Journal of Rheumatology
4099  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2009/06/15/jrheum.090189.short
4100  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/early/2009/06/15/jrheum.090189.full
AB  - Objective To determine whether a mixed cryoglobulin type correlated with cirrhosis in patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Methods We investigated the results of mixed cryoglobulin tests performed in the clinical laboratory on patients with and without HCV infection. Results A higher prevalence of oligoclonal cryoglobulins designated Type IIa was present in HCV-infected patients with cirrhosis than in those without cirrhosis. Conclusion An association of Type IIa cryoglobulins with cirrhosis in HCV-infected patients has not previously been reported.