Flavia Bortolotti

TL;DR: The large majority of Caucasian children with chronic hepatitis B became asymptomatic carriers of infection with normal alanine amino-transferase during the first 20 years of observation, and a subgroup of patients who experienced reactivation or maintained liver damage after HBeAg clearance seems to be at greater risk for disease progression during adult life.

TL;DR: After five years' observation, the proportion of treated children with sustained HBeAg clearance comprised an equal number of responders and non-responders and did not differ from that observed in untreated controls, suggesting that IFN simply accelerated a spontaneous event.

TL;DR: Chronic hepatitis C acquired in childhood is a progressive, slow-moving, fibrotic disease and fibrosis progression inferred on the basis of linear mathematical models should be critically evaluated in the clinical practice.

TL;DR: A higher prevalence of delta infection and increased incidence of blood transfusions were observed in patients with cirrhosis, supporting the hypothesis that superinfection with delta or non-A, non-B agents may play a synergistic role.