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
Multitasking may be Achilles heel for hepatitis C
Nov 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Hepatitis C, a formidable virus that affects 130 million people worldwide, is nursing some pretty impressive bruises. By knocking out sections and subsections of one of its proteins, scientists reveal weak ...
New data show breakthrough microRNA-targeted therapy holds promise as new treatment for hepatitis C
Dec 03, 2009 |
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A study published online in this week's Science shows that SPC3649, a breakthrough microRNA-targeted therapy developed by Santaris Pharma A/S, holds promise as a novel treatment for patients infected with the Hepatitis C viru ...
Alarming trend -- antiviral therapy to treat hepatitis C is declining in the US
Nov 24, 2009 |
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Researchers from the University of Michigan determined that only 663,000 of the approximately 3.9 million Americans with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection received antiviral therapy between 2002 and 2007. Treatment rates ...
New data emerges on liver transplant survival rates
Nov 25, 2009 |
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Researchers at the University of Miami School of Medicine compared the outcomes of cirrhotic patients who underwent liver transplants for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) versus alcoholic liver disease (ETOH) and found ...
Medical students regularly stuck by needles, often fail to report injuries
Nov 25, 2009 |
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Medical students are commonly stuck by needles -- putting them at risk of contracting potentially dangerous blood-borne diseases -- and many of them fail to report the injuries to hospital authorities, according to a Johns ...
The global dynamics and spread of Hepatitis C virus 1a and 1b: A phylogeographical analysis
Dec 15, 2009 |
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Research published this week in PLoS Medicine finds that the global spread of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) coincided with widespread use of transfused blood and with the expansion of intravenous drug use but slowed before wholes ...
