Anti-rods and rings autoantibodies can occur in the hepatitis c-nai?ve population

Abstract

Introduction. The anti-Rods and Rings autoantibody recently described in clinical populations is thought to occur in the setting of hepatitis C treatment, specifically in the context of cytidine triphos- phate (CTP) and guanosine triphosphate (GTP) synthetic pathway inhibitors, and is important in its potential impact on response to therapy. This study asks the question: what is the epidemiology of anti-RR autoantibody in the general, non-clinical population? Materials and methods. This is a cross-sectional study using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Immunofluorescence assay for anti-Rods and Rings autoantibody were performed by NHANES labs and the results made publically available. Sample weights were used to calculate the prevalence and distribution of the autoantibody across demographics. A medication profile of the autoantibody positive population was also constructed. Results. The study sample consisted of 4738 persons over the age of 12 years. Anti-Rods and Rings autoantibodies were found in 39 persons representing 1.3 million persons in the United States population. 38 of 39 persons with anti-Rods and Rings autoanti- body had no prior history of hepatitis C virus infection. A majority of these persons were found to have poly-pharmacy. Discussion. This is the first study to show that anti-RR can occur in the general population without evidence of hepatits C virus infection, and that the majority of persons with anti-RR in the population have no evidence of prior hepatitis C infection. This indicates that there may be another undetermined etiology for anti-rods and rings autoantibodies besides the currently accepted exposure etiology of hepatitis C virus infection and treatment found in clinical studies.
https://doi.org/10.15167/2421-4248/jpmh2013.54.3.406
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