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Jean-Pierre Vinel

Publications and source records attributed to Jean-Pierre Vinel.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Genetic heterogeneity of the envelope 2 gene and eradication of hepatitis C virus after a second course of interferon-alpha.

The heterogeneity of the envelope 2 (E2) gene of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) was involved in the sensitivity of HCV to interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha). To assess the factors leading to virus eradication by IFN-alpha, patients whose first treatment by IFN-alpha failed and who had virus eradication after a second treatment were studied. These patients were paired with subjects in whom both treatments failed. The phosphorylation homology domain of the E2 gene (E2-PHD) had no sequence variation between the two stages in both groups of patients. Therefore, this region has no clinical predictive value within a specific genotype. The hypervariable region 1 (HVR1) was analyzed by cloning and sequencing 20 clones per sample. Comparison of samples showed that the change in quasispecies induced by the first IFN-alpha therapy could be associated with virus elimination obtained after a second treatment. The greater proportion of nonsynonymous mutations that was noted before the second treatment in responders suggest that pretherapeutic immune response is a major factor determining virus elimination and that the immune status of these patients changed between the first and the second treatment.

Adult↗

Long-term impact of renal transplantation on liver fibrosis during hepatitis C virus infection.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: During hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, liver fibrosis progression after renal transplantation remains controversial. The aim of this cohort study with controls was to compare liver histopathologic features during HCV infection between renal transplant recipients and matched groups of hemodialyzed patients or controls without renal disease and untreated for HCV. METHODS: Each renal transplant recipient (group 1, n = 30) was matched at first liver biopsy (LB) using the main factors known to influence progression of fibrosis with one HCV hemodialyzed patient (group 2, n = 30) and one HCV-infected patient (nonhemodialyzed, nontransplanted; group 3, n = 30). Patients from group 1 were also matched with those of group 3 on the time between 2 consecutive LBs performed 37 months apart. LBs were evaluated according to the Knodell index, METAVIR score, and rate of fibrosis progression per year (fibrosis unit). RESULTS: The rate of fibrosis progression per year between the first and second LBs was significantly lower (P = 0.03) in group 1 (0.067; 95% confidence interval: -0.05, 0.18) than group 3 (0.20; 95% confidence interval: 0.13, 0.26). At the second LB, the Knodell index and activity or fibrosis in METAVIR were lower in group 1 than group 3 (4.2 +/- 0.4 vs. 7.5 +/- 0.6, 0.5 +/- 0.1 vs. 1.3 +/- 0.2, and 1.4 +/- 0.2 vs. 2.3 +/- 0.2 respectively, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that liver fibrosis progression is low in most HCV-infected renal transplant recipients with moderate liver disease at baseline.

Adult↗

"A La Carte" treatment of portal hypertension: Adapting medical therapy to hemodynamic response for the prevention of bleeding.

We report the results of adapting medical therapy to the monitoring of hemodynamic response in the prevention of a first variceal bleeding or rebleeding in patients with cirrhosis. Hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) was measured before and after propranolol was initiated. The patients were considered responders if HVPG decreased below 12 mm Hg or at least 20% as compared with baseline value. If patients were not responders, isosorbide-5 mononitrate (I-5MN) was added, and a third hemodynamic study was performed. Thereafter, the patients were followed for a mean of 28 months. Thirty-four consecutive patients were treated to prevent a first bleeding episode in 20 patients and a rebleeding in 14 patients. HVPG value was initially 19.8 +/- 4.6 mm Hg and decreased to 17.6 +/- 5.7 mm Hg (P <.05) after propranolol alone. Thirteen patients (38%) were responders to propranolol. I-5MN improved hemodynamic response in 7 cases. Among these 20 (59%) hemodynamic responders, only 2 (10%) experienced variceal bleeding, as compared with 9 of 14 (64%) nonresponders (P <.05). Using multivariate analysis, only hemodynamic response was found to have an independent predictive value for the risk of variceal bleeding. In conclusion, hemodynamic response to drug therapy identifies patients who are efficiently protected from variceal bleeding as well as nonresponders in whom an alternative treatment should be considered.

Adult↗