Hepatitis C virus (HCV) recurs in the allograft almost universally after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT), with a variable course ranging from mild hepatitis to frank cirrhosis. The uncertain prognosis after OLT has lead to widely increased use of antiviral therapy in the post-OLT setting. We compared two scenarios (antiviral therapy versus no antiviral therapy) using a Markov-based decis...

conclusions the changes of treg and th17 cells and their associated cytokines were related to virological and biochemical responses. results in complete and partial-responders, treg cells frequencies and il-10, tgf-β1, il-23 levels were all decreased significantly after na therapy, while th17 cells and the il-17 levels were increased slightly. treg/th17 ratio was only dramatically declined in c...

The TRANSPEG study was a prospective study to assess the efficacy of antiviral therapy in patients with a recurrent hepatitis C virus (HCV) after liver transplantation. The influence of regulatory T-cells (Tregs) on the response to antiviral therapy was analyzed. Patients were considered as a function of their sustained virological response (SVR) at 18 months after treatment initiation. A trans...

Currently available antiviral therapies specifically target viral replication by blocking reverse transcription with orally given nucleos(t)ide analogues and are able to specifically suppress viral replication. The unique replication strategy of hepatitis B virus (HBV), however, allows long-term persistence of the viral genome within infected hepatocytes in spite of successful therapy. Thus, an...

The persistence of latently infected resting CD4+ T cells has been clearly demonstrated in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals receiving effective antiviral therapy. However, estimates of the half-life of this viral reservoir have been quite divergent. We demonstrate clear evidence for decay of this HIV reservoir in patients who initiated antiviral therapy early in infection...

Guiding Principles This document presents official recommendations of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) on the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) virus (HBV) infection in adults and children. Unlike previous AASLD practice guidelines, this guideline was developed in compliance with the Institute of Medicine standards for trustworthy practice guidelines and use...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Hepatic damage during transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is a critical complication in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Apart from its role in preventing HBV reactivation, there is some evidence for the benefits of preemptive antiviral therapy in TACE. This study evaluated the effect of preemptive antiviral therapy on acute hepati...

BACKGROUND Recurrent herpes labialis (RHL) is one of the most common viral infections worldwide. The available treatments have limited efficacy in preventing the recurrence of ulcerative lesions and reducing the duration of illness. The objective of this review was to identify the effectiveness of topical corticosteroids in addition to antiviral therapy in the treatment of RHL infection. METH...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Liver stiffness (LS) as assessed by transient elastography (TE) can change longitudinally in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). The aim of this study was to identify the factors that improve LS. METHODS Between April 2007 and December 2012, 151 patients with CHB who underwent two TE procedures with an interval of about 2 years were enrolled. Ninety-six of the 151 patient...

BACKGROUND Hyperferritinemia is often found in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and is predictive of poorer response to antiviral therapy. OBJECTIVE To investigate changes in ferritinemia during and after antiviral therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS serum ferritin levels were measured in 262 CHC patients (163 males, mean age 48.5 years +/- 10.1) before and during antiviral therapy, and si...