Research in Medicine

Background: TT virus is a newly described DNA virus that was first detected in the blood of patients with elevated serum aminotransferases following transfusion who were tested negatively for all known hepatitis viruses. This study aimed to elucidate the significance of TTV infection in Iranian patients with autoimmune hepatitis.

 Materials and methods: Sera from 90 patients with autoimmune hepatitis and 90 healthy controls were assayed for TTV DNA using a semi-nested polymerase chain reaction. Moreover, demographic and paraclinical features of patients were evaluated.

Results: TTV DNA was detected in ten (11.1%) of patients with autoimmune hepatitis, versus four (4.4%) in control group, however, no significant difference was found between two groups (NS).

Conclusions: According to our results, although the prevalence of TTV positivity in patients with autoimmune hepatitis was more than the healthy control group, the difference did not reach statistical significance, thus, our data did not provide enough evidence for TTV as a pathogenic organism in autoimmune hepatitis.