Hepatitis C
hideHepatitis C is an infectious disease affecting the liver, caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). The infection is often asymptomatic, but once established, chronic infection can progress to scarring of the liver (fibrosis), and advanced scarring (cirrhosis) which is generally apparent after many years. In some cases, those with cirrhosis will go on to develop liver failure or other complications of cirrhosis, including liver cancer.
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is spread by blood-to-blood contact. Most people have few, if any symptoms after the initial infection, yet the virus persists in the liver in about 85% of those infected. Persistent infection can be treated with medication, peginterferon and ribavirin being the standard-of-care therapy. Only 51% are cured overall. Those who develop cirrhosis or liver cancer may require a liver transplant, and the virus universally recurs after transplantation.
An estimated 270-300 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis C. Hepatitis C is a strictly human disease. It cannot be contracted from or given to any animal. Chimpanzees can be infected with the virus in the laboratory, but do not develop the disease, which has made research more difficult. No vaccine against hepatitis C is available. The existence of hepatitis C (originally "non-A non-B hepatitis") was postulated in the 1970s and proved conclusively in 1989. It is one of five known hepatitis viruses: A, B, C, D, and E.
For more information about Hepatitis C, read the full article at
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News tagged with hepatitis c
Study finds those with more difficult to treat forms of HCV are half as likely to get treated
Nov 09, 2009 |
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A new study by Mount Sinai researchers has for the first time found that patients with more difficult to treat forms of hepatitis C are half as likely to initiate treatment for the disease, when compared to patients with ...
Extending treatment after liver transplant may benefit patients with hepatitis C recurrence
Nov 01, 2009 |
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Extending hepatitis C treatment for liver transplant patients beyond current practice results in high rates of clearance of the hepatitis C virus from the blood, as well as a low rate of relapse, according to a Henry Ford ...
Donor race may impact kidney transplant survival
Oct 30, 2009 |
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The race of kidney donors may affect the survival rates of transplant recipients according to a study by Henry Ford Hospital.
Scientists identify specific markers that trigger aggressiveness of liver cancer
Oct 20, 2009 |
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Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or primary liver cancer forms in the epithelial tissue of the liver and is most commonly caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV). In the U.S., the National Cancer Institute ...
Drinking coffee slows progression of liver disease in chronic hepatitis C sufferers
Oct 20, 2009 |
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Patients with chronic hepatitis C and advanced liver disease who drink three or more cups of coffee per day have a 53% lower risk of liver disease progression than non-coffee drinkers according to a new study led by Neal ...
Elevated lymphotoxin expression in liver leads to chronic hepatitis and causes HCC
Oct 05, 2009 |
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A recent study maps the pathway that leads from infection with Hepatitis B and C virus (HBV and HCV) to chronic hepatitis and liver cancer and proposes a new therapeutic strategy for treating liver diseases with chronic inflammation. ...
FDA panel backs Schering-Plough cancer drug
Medicine & Health / Medications
Oct 05, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Federal health advisers voted 6-4 on Monday that the potential benefits of a Schering-Plough drug outweigh its toxic risks as a treatment for late-stage skin cancer.
Keeping hepatitis C virus at bay after a liver transplant
Oct 01, 2009 |
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One of the most common reasons for needing a liver transplant is liver failure or liver cancer caused by liver cell infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV). However, in nearly all patients the new liver becomes infected with ...
A Twist in the Genome Thwarts Hepatitis C
Sep 30, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Viruses like Hepatitis C proliferate by tricking cellular machinery into manufacturing the parts for duplicate viral particles.
Discovery could improve hepatitis C treatment
Sep 23, 2009 |
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Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers are part of an international team that has discovered a genetic variation that could identify those people infected with hepatitis C who are most likely to benefit ...
Genetic hint for ridding the body of hepatitis C
Sep 16, 2009 |
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More than seventy percent of people who contract Hepatitis C will live with the virus that causes it for the rest of their lives and some will develop serious liver disease including cancer. However, 30 to 40 percent of those ...
Emerging and re-emerging plagues: Is there a rising danger?
Sep 16, 2009 |
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As a result of dominant media coverage of new epidemic threats such as swine influenza, other infection risks receive less public attention than they deserve.
Men experience sexual dysfunction during hepatitis C therapy
Sep 01, 2009 |
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Sexual impairment is common among men with chronic hepatitis C undergoing antiviral therapy, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Instit ...
Is endotoxin receptor CD14 rs2569190/C-159T gene correlated with chronic hepatitis C?
Aug 26, 2009 |
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It is still unknown why the natural history of chronic disease caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV), which currently infects 3% of the world's population, varies from mild in some patients to rapidly progressing in others.
New images capture cell's ribosomes at work, could aid in molecular war against disease
Aug 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have for the first time captured elusive nanoscale movements of ribosomes at work, shedding light on how these cellular factories take ...
