Effects of estradiol and progesterone on the proinflammatory cytokine production by mononuclear cells from patients with chronic hepatitis C

Table 1 Characteristics at the time of isolation of PBMCs from age-matched younger and older males and pre- and post-menopausal females of patients with chronic hepatitis C and healthy controls

	Patients with chronic hepatitis C				Healthy controls
	Males (yr)		Females (yr)		Males (yr)		Females (yr)
	< 50	≥ 50	< 50	≥ 50	< 50	≥ 50	< 50	≥ 50
n	18	18	17	18	18	18	18	18
Age (yr)	41 ± 7	69 ± 6	41 ± 7	68 ± 6	40 ± 6	68 ± 6	40 ± 6	69 ± 6
HCV-RNA (log copies/mL)	6.1 ± 0.8	6.5 ± 1.4	5.9 ± 0.8	6.4 ± 1.2	ND	ND	ND	ND
ALT (U/L)	118 ± 68	112 ± 52	105 ± 49	101 ± 55	27 ± 8	26 ± 8	24 ± 7	24 ± 8
Platelet count (103/mm3)	208 ± 58	189 ± 52	206 ± 54	185 ± 55	230 ± 60	219 ± 53	225 ± 57	214 ± 58

The PBMCs were isolated from age-matched males (n = 72) and females (n = 71) of 71 patients with chronic hepatitis C and 72 healthy controls, who were divided into younger or pre-menopausal (< 50 years of age) and older or post-menopausal (≥ 50 years of age) groups, based on a mean menopausal age of 50 years. The values are the mean ± SD (n = 17 or 18). ND: Not detected.