No patient in the control group was positive for anti-CCP antibodies. Conclusion: Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies should be measured frequently in patients with HCV and an additional systemic disease, such as end-stage chronic renal failure, chronic obstructive airway disease, and decompensated liver cirrhosis, to differentiate RA from non-RA arthropathy. strong class=”kwd-title” Keywords: Anti-CCP, Chronic hepatitis C virus, Rheumatoid arthritis ?zet Ama?: Kronik hepatit C virs (HCV) enfeksiyonu ?e?itli romatolojik belirti ve semptomlarla seyredebilir. Results: Anti-CCP antibodies were found in 5 chronic HCV patients with RA. The patient with the highest anti-CCP antibody level had RA. No patient in the control group was positive for anti-CCP antibodies. Conclusion: Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies should be measured frequently in patients with HCV and an additional systemic disease, such as end-stage chronic renal failure, chronic obstructive airway disease, and decompensated liver cirrhosis, to differentiate RA from non-RA arthropathy. strong class=”kwd-title” Keywords: Anti-CCP, Chronic hepatitis C virus, Rheumatoid arthritis ?zet Ama?: Kronik hepatit C virs (HCV) enfeksiyonu ?e?itli romatolojik belirti ve semptomlarla seyredebilir. Anti-siklik sitrllenmi? peptid (Anti-CCP) ?zellikle romatoid artrit (RA) tan?s?nda yayg?n ?ekilde kullan?lan, ayr?ca sistemik lupus eritematozus, ailevi akdeniz ate?i ve ps?riatik artrit gibi artritle birlikte seyreden baz? hastal?klarda da pozitif oldu?u g?sterilmi? bir antikordur. Gere? ve Y?ntem: ?al??mada Atatrk niversitesi Gastroenteroloji Klini?i ve Erzurum B?lge E?itim ve Ara?t?rma Hastanesi Enfeksiyon Hastal?klar? Klini?inden 57 kronik HCV enfeksiyonlu hastadan rutin tetkikleri s?ras?nda al?nm?? olan kanlar kullan?ld?. Kontrol kanlar? Atatrk niversitesi kan vericilerinden artan kanlardan topland?. Bulgular: Kronik HCV enfeksiyonuna ilaveten RA tan?s? da alm?? olan 5 hastan?n tamam?nda Anti-CCP pozitif bulundu. Anti-CCP seviyesi en yksek olan hasta da RAi olan bir hasta idi. Kontrol grubundaki hastalardan hi?birinde Anti-CCP pozitif de?ildi. Sonu?: Kronik HCVli hastalarda kronik b?brek yetmezli?i, kronik obstriktif akci?er hastal??? veya dekompanse karaci?er sirozu gibi sistemik hastal?klar?n varl???nda, Anti-CCP daha s?k olarak g?rlebilmektedir. Ayr?ca Anti-CCP pozitifli?inin, bu hasta grubunda RA ile non-RA artropati ayr?m?nda da kullan?labilece?i d?nlmektedir. Introduction Hepatitis C is a serious public Dimebon 2HCl health issue, with a global estimate of 170 million cases of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection [1, 2]. Patients with chronic HCV infection may have a variety of rheumatic symptoms and signs, including immunological disorders with different clinical presentations, such as arthritis, arthralgia, and various forms of vasculitis [3C5]. The prevalence of extrahepatic complications can Dimebon 2HCl vary between populations, possibly due to genetic Dimebon 2HCl and viral factors, such as viral genotype. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-like HCV-related arthropathy can be clinically indistinguishable from recent-onset RA, in Rabbit polyclonal to AMID which articular damage and deformities have not yet occurred. Two forms of articular involvement have been identified in association with HCV infection, but the more common form is an oligoarthritis of the large joints that is frequently associated with cryoglobulinemia [6, 7]. An association between HCV infection and cryoglobulinemia syndrome has been firmly established [8]. Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibody has been reported as a new commercially available serological marker for RA. It is more specific than rheumatoid factor (RF) [9, 10] and is now widely used. Anti-CCP antibodies may also be present in some diseases that present arthritis as a symptom, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, familial Mediterranean fever, Beh?ets disease, and psoriatic arthritis [10C13]. Differentiating patients with HCV-related arthritis from patients with RA represents both a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Anti-CCP antibody has been investigated as a possible factor that can be used to distinguish between these two conditions. Our aim in the present study was to investigate the levels of anti-CCP antibodies in HCV-infected Turkish patients with or without arthritis, RF, or cryoglobulinemia. Materials and Methods Sera were Dimebon 2HCl obtained from 39 normal (control group) volunteer blood donors chosen from patients who attended outpatient clinics but had no diseases. Blood samples from 57 patients with RA were obtained from the Gastroenterology Clinic of Ataturk University and the Infectious Disease Clinic of Erzurum Region Research and Education Hospital. The study was conducted at two hospitals (the Erzurum Region Education and Research Hospital and the Ataturk University Faculty of Medicine). Patients with HCV infection were diagnosed by the presence of HCV antibodies, and infection was confirmed by the detection of viral RNA in sera. After obtaining informed consent, serum samples were collected from all patients. Normal sera were obtained from volunteer blood donors at the Ataturk University. Sera previously stored at ?80C were evaluated for RF and anti-CCP antibodies. A history was taken from all of the patients, and a clinical examination was performed, including a musculoskeletal examination, abdominal ultrasonography, and laboratory investigations in the form of routine laboratory tests and tests for RF and anti-CCP antibodies. HCV infection was diagnosed in patients with chronic HCV infection by the presence of HCV antibodies and the detection of HCV-RNA by real-time PCR. In total, 35.1% of the patients with chronic HCV had end-stage chronic renal failure (CRF), 5.3% had chronic obstructive airway disease (COBD), 5.3% had decompensated liver cirrhosis (DLC), 8.8%.