Hepatitis C: a brief clinical overview.
نویسندگان
چکیده
Hepatitis C has emerged as an important public health problem that has affected 3.9 million Americans and 170 million people worldwide and is currently the most common indication for orthotopic liver transplantation. The disease, characterized by asymptomatic onset, is often discovered incidentally through blood tests obtained during routine physical examination or before blood donation. Spontaneous recovery occurs in about 20% of patients. Among those who remain chronically infected, an equal percentage progress to cirrhosis within 20 yr, have stable nonprogressive disease, or progress more slowly over 40 to 60 yr. At present, combination therapy with interferon plus ribavirin is the treatment of choice for hepatitis C-infected patients identified as appropriate candidates for therapy. Unfortunately, sustained response rates are only modest, with a lesser response among African Americans, and treatment is associated with a number of side effects. Research studies attempting to improve the response to current therapy, to identify alternative treatments or treatment strategies, and to develop an effective vaccine are ongoing and will hopefully provide us with the ability to better understand and manage hepatitis C.
منابع مشابه
Identification of Aptamer-Binding Sites in Hepatitis C Virus Envelope Glycoprotein E2
Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) encodes two envelope glycoproteins, E1 and E2. Our previous work selected a specific aptamer ZE2, which could bind to E2 with high affinity, with a great potential for developing new molecular probes as an early diagnostic reagents or therapeutic drugs targeting HCV. In this study, the binding sites between E2 and aptamer ZE2 were further explored. E2 was truncated to 15...
متن کاملThe “Rare” or “Non-LCH” Histiocytic Disorders in Childhood: A Brief Overview
Diseases of the monocyte, macrophage and dendritic cell system are referred to as histiocytoses. Based on improved understanding of their pathobiology and molecular background histiocytoses have been recently re-classified into five groups. Nevertheless, for practical reasons the histiocytoses are grouped into: Langerhans cell histiocytosis (the most common entity), hemophagocytic lymphohistioc...
متن کاملPseudoporphyria in association with Hepatitis C virus infection: A case report
Pseudoporphyria is an uncommon bullous disease with similar clinical and histopathological findings to porphyria cutanea tarda, in the absence of detectable porphyrin elevation. We present a 34-year-old man with clinical and histological findings compatible with porphyria cutanea tarda, whose his urinary uroporphyrin was negative and we concluded that he was a case of pseudoporphyria. Concomita...
متن کاملViral Hepatitis in South Korea
In South Korea (S. Korea), viral hepatitis is a major public health burden. Advances in healthcare policy, evidence-based medicine, and therapeutic strategies in S. Korea have brought a rapid change in the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of viral hepatitis. This review discusses the innovative approaches that S. Korea has taken to curb the epidemic of viral hepatitis. In addition,...
متن کاملImmunological Aspect of Meningococcal disease: An overview in Host- Bacteria Interaction
Meningococcal disease remains a significant global public health and is unique among causes of bacterial meningitis and sepsis where it not only causes sporadic disease but also outbreaks. Meningococcal disease has a rapid onset with high mortality. The understanding of immunopathogenesis is crucial for development of novel therapeutic strategies and vaccines designed against meningococcal dise...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
عنوان ژورنال:
- ILAR journal
دوره 42 2 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2001