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Failure to Detect Hepatitis B Antigen in Serum and Muscle

John N. Whitaker, MD; Paul V. Holland, MD; Harvey J. Alter, MD; W. King Engel, MD

Arch Neurol. 1973;28(6):410-411.

Abstract
A search was conducted for hepatitis B antigen (HBAg) in 21 serum and 29 muscle specimens from patients with well documented idiopathic inflammatory myopathy. Although intramuscular vascular granular deposits of immunoglobulin and β_1C/1A globulin were present in many of these individuals, HBAg was not detected in the serum or muscle of any of them. Antibody to HBAg was detected in serum samples of 10%, similar to the frequency found in normal controls and other hospitalized patients.

Author Affiliations
Bethesda, Md

From the Medical Neurology Branch, National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke (Drs. Whitaker and Engel), and the Clinical Center Blood Bank, National Institutes of Health (Drs. Holland and Alter), Bethesda, MD. Dr. Whitaker is now at the Veterans Administration Hospital, Minneapolis.

Footnotes
Received for publication Feb 6, 1973.

Reprint requests to Bldg 10, Room 10 D-18, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20014 (Dr. Engel).

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