Hepatitis

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Hepatitis (plural hepatitides) implies injury to the liver characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from ancient Greek hepar (ἧπαρ), the root being hepat- (ἡπατ-), meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation" (c. 1727). The condition can be self-limiting, healing on its own, or can progress to scarring of the liver. Hepatitis is acute when it lasts less than six months and chronic when it persists longer. A group of viruses known as the hepatitis viruses cause most cases of liver damage worldwide. Hepatitis can also be due to toxins (notably alcohol), other infections or from autoimmune process. It may run a subclinical course when the affected person may not feel ill. The patient becomes unwell and symptomatic when the disease impairs liver functions that include, among other things, removal of harmful substances, regulation of blood composition, and production of bile to help digestion.

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News tagged with hepatitis

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Multitasking may be Achilles heel for hepatitis C

Medicine & Health / Research

created Nov 23, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(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 ...


Medical students regularly stuck by needles, often fail to report injuries

Medicine & Health / Other

created Nov 25, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

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 ...


New data emerges on liver transplant survival rates

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Nov 25, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

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 ...


Alarming trend -- antiviral therapy to treat hepatitis C is declining in the US

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Nov 24, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

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 ...


Cost of child vaccines fall, more kids saved

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Nov 20, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(AP) -- Babies squirmed and wailed as needles plunged into their chubby thighs at a public health clinic on the outskirts of Hanoi on Friday. Like little ones everywhere, the reaction to the sting was never pretty.


Toward explaining why hepatitis B hits men harder than women

Toward explaining why hepatitis B hits men harder than women

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Nov 18, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Scientists in China are reporting discovery of unusual liver proteins, found only in males, that may help explain the long-standing mystery of why the hepatitis B virus (HBV) sexually discriminates -- hitting ...


Study finds those with more difficult to treat forms of HCV are half as likely to get treated

Medicine & Health / Health

created Nov 09, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

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 ...