©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Oct 14, 2015; 21(38): 10783-10789
Published online Oct 14, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i38.10783
Published online Oct 14, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i38.10783
What’s new in hepatitis C virus infections in children?
Malgorzata Pawlowska, Anna Pniewska, Beata Smok, Waldemar Halota, Department of Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Haepatology, Faculty of Medicine, Collegium Medicum Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University, 85-030 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Krzysztof Domagalski, Centre for Modern Interdisciplinary Technologies, Nicolaus Copernicus University, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
Andrzej Tretyn, Department of Plant Physiology and Biotechnology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
Author contributions: Pawlowska M, Domagalski K, Pniewska A, Smok B, Halota W and Tretyn A contributed in writing and reviewing this article; all authors approved the final version.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Correspondence to: Malgorzata Pawlowska, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Haepatology, Faculty of Medicine, Collegium Medicum Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Floriana 12, 85-030 Bydgoszcz, Poland. mpawlowska@cm.umk.pl
Telephone: +48-52-3255605 Fax: +48-52-3255650
Received: April 3, 2015
Peer-review started: April 4, 2015
First decision: June 2, 2015
Revised: June 17, 2015
Accepted: September 2, 2015
Article in press: September 2, 2015
Published online: October 14, 2015
Processing time: 193 Days and 17.2 Hours
Peer-review started: April 4, 2015
First decision: June 2, 2015
Revised: June 17, 2015
Accepted: September 2, 2015
Article in press: September 2, 2015
Published online: October 14, 2015
Processing time: 193 Days and 17.2 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: Vertical transmission (VT) is the most common cause of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in children. It is important to introduce routine HCV screening tests in pregnant women. Some hopes for VTC prophylaxis are associated with directly acting antiviral agents. IL-28B single nucleotide polymorphisms may help to identify children with spontaneous clearance and with good treatment prognosis. Developing non-invasive tests that can predict liver fibrosis in children is important. New biomarkers of liver injury (ITIH4, C4a, arginase 1) have been shown to reflect liver fibrosis and steatosis. The differences in liver injury between children and adults create new perspectives of action to reduce liver disease progression in children.