EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS INFECTION AS A TRIGGER OF AUTOIMMUNE HEPATITIS: CASE REPORT

Abstract: The study underlines the importance of the differential diagnosis between primary Epstein-Barr virus EBV associated hepatitis with features of autoimmunity, in which there is a directpathogenetic role of the virus, and EBV related autoimmune hepatitis, in which EBV could act as thetrigger of the immune-mediated damage with probable differences between the two conditions withregard to the prognosis and the responsiveness to immunosuppressive treatment. Moreover wehypothesise that the favourable outcome in our patient, better than the most of autoimmune hepatitiscases, may be related either to the moderate necroinflammatory activity and to the low level of fibrosisat the beginning of the disease or to the role of EBV as a trigger of autoimmune hepatitis. Thehypothesis that EBV-related autoimmune hepatitis could have a more favourable prognosis than themost of autoimmune hepatitis cases in general need to be confirmed on a larger series of studies.