HBVDNA was measured at the beginning and at the end selleckchem of the screening period .A liver biopsy was performed in patients who conform to the selection criteria.All of the patients had a normal physical examination, blood counts and ultrasonography.Fibrosis stage and HAI were scored according to Ishak scoring system.Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to find out independent

factors associated with fibrosis stage≥2 and HAI≥6. Results:1 17 patients (56 male,mean age 43±11years) were included.The known duration of HBsAg positivity was 8.3 ± 5.4 (range,1-22) years.Median HBVDNA level was 111.641 IU/ml and 42.7% patients had a HBVDNA level >20.000 IU/ml.Median HAI was 3 (0-8) and 14.5% patients had a moderate-to-severe (HAI>6) histological activity.Distribution of patients according to fibrosis stage was as follows:38 (32.5%) patients with stage 0, 41 (35%) patients with stage 1 and 34 (29.1%) patients with stage 2 fibrosis and 4 (3.4%) patients with advanced fibrosis (stage 3-4).The number of patients with fibrosis stage≥2 and/or HAI≥6 was 43 (36.7%). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, only independent variable associated with fibrosis stage ≥2 was age

(OR=1.04, 95% CI 1.004-1.079, selleck p=0.031). Independent risk factors for HAI≥6 were; age (OR= 1.067, 95% CI 1.010-1.126, p=0.02) and male gender (OR=4.73, 95% GA 1.19-1 8.7, p=0.027). According to ROC analyses, an optimal cut-off for age to detect fibrosis stage≥2 was 46 years (sensitivity=0.58 /specificity=0.67) and age cut-off to determine HAI≥6 was 44 years (sensitivity=0.82/specificity=0.56). Discussion:A significant liver damage indicating treatment was detected in one third of CHB patients with PNALT and high serum HBVDNA level who underwent liver biopsy.Age is an independent predictor for moderate-to-severe liver fibrosis and histological activity regardless of

medchemexpress the level of HBVDNA. It seems reasonable to perform liver biopsy in CHB patients older than 40 years to determine the degree of liver damage. Disclosures: The following people have nothing to disclose: Asli Cifcibasi Ormeci, Filiz Akyuz, Bulent Baran, Ozlem Mutluay Soyer, Suut Gokturk, Cetin Karaca, Mine Gulluoglu, Derya Onel, Selim Badur, Kadir Demir, Fatih Besisik, Sabahattin Kay-makoglu Background: The differential diagnosis between inactive carrier and active hepatitis is important in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) virus infection. Serum cytokeratin (CK)-18 fragments (M30-antigen) are proposed as biomarkers of apoptosis. Objectives: We investigated whether serum M30-antigen levels might help to characterize the various phases of CHB and predict the state of significant inflammation in patients with CHB. Study design: A total of 339 CHB patients who underwent liver biopsy, were included. Serum M30-antigen levels were compared with inactive carriers (n=21), patients with HBeAg- negative hepatitis (n=95), HBeAg-positive hepatitis (n=141) and liver cirrhosis (n=82).