HCV RNA genomic sequences and HCV-E2 glycoprotein in sural nerve biopsies from hcv-infected patients with peripheral neuropathy

Peripheral neuropathy (PN), the major neurological complication of chronic HCV infection, is frequently associated with mixed cryoglobulinemia (MC) and small-vessel systemic vasculitis. While humoral and cell-mediated immune mechanisms are suspected to act together in an aberrant immune response that results in peripheral nerve damage, the role of HCV remains largely speculative. The possible demonstration of HCV in peripheral nerve tissue would obviously assume important pathogenic implications.