SummaryHepatitis C virus is one of the main causes of chronic hepatitis in developing countries. The current study was to evaluate the efficacy of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay third generation (ELISA-3) for detection of antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) in comparison with reverse transcriptasenested polymerase chain reaction (RT-nested PCR) to detect HCV RNA for the diagnosis of hepatitis C virus. Serum samples were collected from 151 chronic hepatitis C patients and 50 healthy individuals. All samples were tested for anti-HCV antibodies using ELISA-3 and HCV RNA by RT-nested PCR. Of the 151,120 (78.9%) were found to be seropositive by ELISA-3, and 148 (98%) patients were HCV RNA positive, 118 (78.1%) were positives for both, 30 (19.9%) were positive for ELISA-3 and negative for RT-PCR, and 2 cases (1.3%) were positive for RT-nested PCR and negative for ELISA-3. The sensitivity and the specificity for the detection of HCV were absolute when the two techniques were combined. In conclusion, ELISA-3 is a suitable assay for routine screening for anti-HCV. RT-nested PCR for HCV is a value for the early detection of viremic, anti-HCV negative cases; this may be of importance in treatment of hepatitis C.

Abstract. Objectives:To study the interrelationships of adiponectin, C-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen with each other in T2DM patients with (T2DM-C) and without complications (T2DM-NC) among healthy individuals. Design and methods: The study comprised of 120 T2DM-C, 59 T2DM-NC patients and 40 healthy volunteers. Biochemical markers were determined in the serum. Results: Positivity rates of CRP and fibrinogen were significantly increased in T2DM-C as compared to T2DM-NC or controls, whereas adiponectin showed highest level in healthy individuals. Inflammatory biomarkers were inversely correlated with adiponectin (P < 0.01). Lipid profiles, kidney functions and BMI, showed positive significant correlation with CRP and fibrinogen but negative correlation with adiponectin. For better detection of T2DM, the combined sensitivity (98.9%) and specificity (92.5%) of fibrinogen and adiponectin was higher than the combined sensitivity and specificity of fibrinogen and CRP or adiponectin and CRP or than that of the biomarkers alone. Conclusion: Elevated levels of CRP and fibrinogen and reduced level of adiponectin can be used for early diagnosis of T2DM and can predict diabetic complications.

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