Yoshida Eric-M, Riley Mark, Arbour Laura-T
Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
World J Gastroenterol. 2006 Jun 21;12(23):3625-7. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v12.i23.3625.
Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a well-known but uncommon chronic liver disease that is presumed to be of autoimmune etiology. Recently, investigations in British Columbia (BC), a province of Canada situated along the Pacific North-West of North America, have suggested that PBC is not a rare disease amongst BC's Aboriginal (i.e. First Nations) communities. Geographically, BC is adjacent to South East Alaska, an American state that has also reported an increased prevalence of PBC amongst its Aboriginal communities. In this article, the medical evidence supporting a hypothesis of increased risk of PBC amongst BC's First Nations communities is reviewed. Evidence suggesting that autoimmune hepatitis is also more likely amongst BC's First Nations communities is also presented.
原发性胆汁性肝硬化（PBC）是一种广为人知但并不常见的慢性肝病，推测其病因是自身免疫性的。最近，在加拿大位于北美洲西北太平洋沿岸的不列颠哥伦比亚省（BC省）进行的调查表明，PBC在BC省的原住民（即第一民族）社区中并非罕见疾病。从地理位置上看，BC省与美国阿拉斯加州东南部相邻，该州也报告称其原住民社区中PBC的患病率有所上升。在本文中，我们回顾了支持BC省第一民族社区中PBC风险增加这一假说的医学证据。同时也展示了表明自身免疫性肝炎在BC省第一民族社区中也更常见的证据。
