pubmed-article:9824989 | pubmed:abstractText | The hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is characterized by a variety of extra-hepatic manifestations in many individuals. Among these, diabetes mellitus (DM) can be included, as such a metabolic disorder has been demonstrated to be more frequent in chronic hepatitis C than in liver disease due to other causes. Recently, we have observed that most patients affected with HCV-associated mixed cryoglobulinemia (13 out of 15, 86.7%), that were at baseline normoglycemic, developed DM following corticosteroid treatment (prednisone > 25 mg/daily) for at least three months. Conversely, when we consider a control group including 36 HCV negative patients affected with various immunomediated disorders, i.e., systemic lupus erythematosus, myasthenia gravis, poly/dermatomyositis and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, that were initially normoglycemic, corticosteroid induced DM (prednisone > 25 mg/daily for at least three months) occurred only in 16.7% of subjects. Moreover, in other two HCV positive patients suffering from myasthenia gravis, prolonged corticosteroid treatment was complicated by DM. These data, that are still unclear from a pathophysiologic viewpoint, seem to indicate corticosteroid induced DM as a further, unusual extra-hepatic manifestation of the HCV infection. | lld:pubmed |