Hepatic lesions in alcoholic HBV carriers

Liver biopsies were taken from 54 alcoholic HBV carriers with liver dysfunction to assess whether HBV infection or habitual drinking was the main cause of their illness. In 28 cases, ultrastructural studies were done. Results showed that 50% of the cases predominantly displayed virus-related histological changes, whereas 13% of them mainly had alcohol-related ones. Both pathological changes were evenly distributed in four cases. The remaining 15 cases showed nonspecific or other histological changes. Electron microscopy revealed that HBV core and Dane particles were seen with Mallory bodies in the same hepatocytes. Thus, we postulate that HBV-related changes are more often encountered than alcoholic ones in alcoholic HBV carriers and that HBV replication can occur even in hepatocytes bearing Mallory bodies.