Figure 4.

Interleukin (IL)-18 levels in sera show a strong positive correlation with hepatic histological activity in patients with chronic hepatitis C. The hepatitis activity index (HAI) score, reflecting severity, was determined in liver biopsies of 20 patients using the modified Knodell system. The mean IL-18 concentration in patients with HAI scores > 7 was higher than that in patients with HAI ≤ 7 (1101·1 ± 235·5 versus 672·5 ± 131·5 pg/ml, respectively), and IL-18 production was strongly associated with HAI (correlation coefficient r = 0·945; P< 0·001).