Related topics: liver disease , hepatitis , hepatitis c virus , virus , liver transplantation
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
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with hepatitis c
Researchers decode structure of an entire HIV genome
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Aug 05, 2009 |
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The structure of an entire HIV genome has been decoded for the first time by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The results have widespread implications for understanding the strategies ...
The hepatitis healing power of blueberry leaves
Aug 07, 2009 |
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A chemical found in blueberry leaves has shown a strong effect in blocking the replication of the Hepatitis C virus, opening up a new avenue for treating chronic HCV infections, which affect 200 million people worldwide and ...
Chronic Infection Now Clearly Tied to Immune-System Protein
Jun 13, 2009 |
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The reason deadly infections like human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C never go away is because these viruses disarm the body’s defense system. Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have ...
Study: Patients with resolved hepatitis C likely still contagious
May 04, 2009 |
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Patients with chronic hepatitis C that has been resolved through therapy or immune response may still be able to infect others with the virus. That finding is from a new study in the May issue of Hepatology, a journal publis ...
New Biomarker Predicts Response to Hepatitis C Treatment
Aug 16, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers have identified the first genetic marker that predicts response to hepatitis C treatments, and a single letter of DNA code appears to make a huge difference. Duke University Medical Center scientists ...
Novel antibody prevents infection by hepatitis C virus
May 05, 2009 |
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Taking aim at a leading cause of liver failure in the United States, a team of scientists at the Massachusetts Biologic Laboratories (MBL) of the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) has developed a human monoclonal ...
Researchers show new antioxidant could help treat cardiovascular disease
Jun 29, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Glasgow believe they have found a potential new treatment for cardiovascular disease which reduces blood pressure.
First human gets new antibody aimed at hepatitis C virus
Aug 06, 2009 |
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Building upon a series of successful preclinical studies, researchers at MassBiologics of the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) today announced the beginning of a Phase 1 clinical trial, testing the safety ...
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 ...
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 ...
Scrub tech may have exposed thousands to hepatitis
Jul 03, 2009 |
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(AP) -- A former surgery technician may have exposed thousands of Colorado patients to hepatitis C when she swapped her own dirty syringes for ones filled with a powerful narcotic, federal authorities said Thursday.
Liver disease 'shrunk' by blood-pressure drug
Jun 01, 2009 |
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A blood-pressure medicine has been shown to reverse the effects of early-stage liver failure in some patients.
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 ...
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 ...
Immune exhaustion driven by antigen in chronic viral infection
May 13, 2009 |
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A main reason why viruses such as HIV or hepatitis C persist despite a vigorous initial immune response is exhaustion. The T cells, or white blood cells, fighting a chronic infection eventually wear out.
