Chronic Hepatitis C

Chronic Hepatitis C – General Information

Chronic Hepatitis C – Symptoms

Chronic Hepatitis C – Treatment

Below one percent of the people infected with Chronic Hepatitis C present the chance of a spontaneous clearing of the virus. Of course, Acute Hepatitis C carriers have a higher chance of curing after using treatment (higher than 80%), than Chronic Hepatitis C carriers. There is an 80% chance that the disease will clear up by itself in its acute phase (first six months). There is also a variation regarding curing chances depending on the different genotypes of HCV. People infected with genotypes HCV2 and HCV3 present a chance of 75% or higher for a viral response, after 24 weeks of treatment. Genotype HCV1 carriers are treated during a 48 weeks period and have a 50% chance of curing. Genotype HCV4 carriers present a 65% chance of curing after 48 weeks of treatment. Genotype HCV4 is spread mostly in Africa and the Middle East. In the USA, 80% of the 4 million infected people present genotype HCV1. Worldwide, it is estimated tat there are 170 million HCV infected patients.

Chronic Hepatitis C is currently treated with antiviral drugs like Ribavirin, Pegasys and PEG-Intron during a period of 24 to 48 weeks. But, the treatment that uses only drugs (medical products) is not efficient enough by itself. It should be sustained by therapy, under the supervision of physicians who have specialized in fields as hepatology, gastroenterology or infectious disorders. The treatment is physically challenging especially for patients with drug or alcohol consumption history, and also for normal people because they have to cope with a more restrictive alimentation. A seriously high number of patients present side effects during the first days of treatment, that vary from flu-like symptoms, to severe adverse reactions like anemia, cardiovascular events and psychiatric manifestations like suicide.

Completing the upper mentioned prophylaxis medical products (Ribavirin and Interferon) the use of Amantadine, or Symmetrel (an antiviral drug), offers higher success rates of the treatment. Another therapy, called “triple therapy” involves adding 100mg of Amantidine twice a day. This treatment, as studies have indicated, is particularly efficient for “non-responders” – patients who have not been cured of this disease even after the treatment with Ribavirin. But Amantadine is not currently approved in the treatment of HCV, because it is not known when a patient benefits more of this treatment. Other experimental drugs are Viramidine, protease inhibitors like VX 950, polymerase inhibitors like NM 283, BILN 2061, or drugs like Albuferon, Zadaxin and DAPY. It is recommended for Chronic Hepatitis C carriers to be vaccinated for hepatitis A and B, because an infection with either one of these medical conditions would accentuate their liver disease. Alcohol consumption accelerates the rate of development for Chronic Hepatitis C, worsening the fibrosis and cirrhosis and making liver cancer more likely to occur. It is shown in statistics that smoking increases the scarring rate of the organ.
There are also some alternative therapies for Chronic Hepatitis C. An extract of Silybum marianum helps hepatic functions, and licorice has a mild antiviral effect and raises blood pressure. These alternative methods do not treat the viral infection, but they help the liver, therefore slowing the progress of the disease and keeping a higher quality of life for the infected patient.