Hepatitis virus-related and ethanol-induced chronic liver disease with or without cryoglobulins--is there a difference concerning clinical or laboratory manifestation?

Mixed cryoglobulinemia is frequent in southern Europe and attributed to hepatitis C infection. We analyzed prevalence and clinical symptoms of mixed cryoglobulinemia in our region among patients with chronic hepatitis C (n = 29) and B (n = 7) in comparison to alcoholic liver cirrhosis without evidence of hepatitis virus infection (n = 10). Cryoglobulinemia was found in 13/29 patients with hepatitis C (11 type III, one type I1-III and one type II), 2/7 with hepatitis B (one type II, one type III) and 4/10 with alcoholic liver cirrhosis (one type II, three type III). Patients with moderate active hepatitis had more type II than type III cryoglobulins. Concerning clinical symptoms, only sicca syndrome was more frequent in patients with hepatitis C. Rheumatoid factor (RF) and immune globulin M (IgM) levels were higher in hepatitis C than in the other groups. Renal disease was rare in all but not different between the groups. Mixed cryoglobulinemia in hepatitis C (and B) is most frequently of type III. Patients with hepatitis C had the same prevalence of cryoglobulins as patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis. Cryoglobulins had no influence on clinical syndromes or organ damage.