Pregnancy appears to be a potential risk factor for viral replication and an extreme low immune status of Indian/Asian pregnant women. It is suggested that diminished cellular immunity (indicated by a decrease in CD4, an increase in CD8 cell counts and lowered CD4/CD8 cell ratio) and a high level of steroid hormones that influence viral replication/expression during pregnancy appear to be the plausible reasons for severity of the disease.

One-third of the pregnant women with HEV infection had a severe form of hepatitis in the third trimester of pregnancy, i.e. FHF. Hepatitis E in pregnancy is associated with high rates of preterm labor and mortality.

No abstract

No abstract

The study demonstrates for the first time a possible association between the DraI polymorphism of the CYP2E1 gene and the risk of ATT hepatotoxicity. The genotyping of the NAT2 and CYP2E1 genes could possibly identify the groups at highest risk of developing ATT-induced hepatitis prior to medication.