Genetic host factors may modify the course of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Very recently, a genome-wide scan that reported association of the IL28B locus with response to treatment in HCV infection was published. The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship of this locus with outcome of HCV infection in a cohort constituted by a total of 731 Spanish individuals. From these, 284 were subjects with persistent infection, 69 were individuals who naturally cleared the virus, and 378 were noninfected subjects. Genotyping of the rs12979860 (C>T) in the IL28B locus was performed using a TaqMan 5 0 allelic discrimination assay. , OR 5 0.32; 95%CI, 0.18-0.57); and lastly, patients with sustained response (60.2% versus 32.1% found in patients with nonsustained response, P 5 3.1 3 10 25 , OR 5 0.31; 95%CI, 0.17-0.56). Conclusion: We have found different rates of viral genotype infection depending on the IL28B variant as well as an association of this locus with natural and treatment-mediated response. (HEPATOLOGY 2010;52:33-37) H epatitis C virus (HCV) infection is estimated to affect 170 million people worldwide. This infection results in a chronic active hepatitis in more than 80% of the infected patients, of which 20%-30% develop progressive fibrosis and cirrhosis, whereas only approximately 10%-20% of the infected people spontaneously eliminate the virus.

Objectives:Treatment for celiac disease (CD) is a lifelong strict gluten-free diet (GFD). Patients should be followed-up with dietary interviews and serology as CD markers to ensure adherence to the diet. However, none of these methods offer an accurate measure of dietary compliance. Our aim was to evaluate the measurement of gluten immunogenic peptides (GIP) in stools as a marker of GFD adherence in CD patients and compare it with traditional methods of GFD monitoring.Methods:We performed a prospective, nonrandomized, multicenter study including 188 CD patients on GFD and 84 healthy controls. Subjects were given a dietary questionnaire and fecal GIP quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Serological anti-tissue transglutaminase (anti-tTG) IgA and anti-deamidated gliadin peptide (anti-DGP) IgA antibodies were measured simultaneously.Results:Of the 188 celiac patients, 56 (29.8%) had detectable GIP levels in stools. There was significant association between age and GIP in stools that revealed increasing dietary transgressions with advancing age (39.2% in subjects ≥13 years old) and with gender in certain age groups (60% in men ≥13 years old). No association was found between fecal GIP and dietary questionnaire or anti-tTG antibodies. However, association was detected between GIP and anti-DGP antibodies, although 46 of the 53 GIP stool-positive patients were negative for anti-DGP.Conclusions:Detection of gluten peptides in stools reveals limitations of traditional methods for monitoring GFD in celiac patients. The GIP ELISA enables direct and quantitative assessment of gluten exposure early after ingestion and could aid in the diagnosis and clinical management of nonresponsive CD and refractory CD. Trial registration number NCT02711397.

P. jirovecii colonization can be frequently detected in immunocompetent adults, which suggests that the general population could be a source of this infection.