Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is a bloodborne infection that attacks the liver and is caused by the hepatitis C virus. Anyone can get the infection, but certain risky behaviors increase the risk of infection, including intravenous and illicit drug use and having multiple sexual partners or a history of sexully transmitted diseases. Prior to proper blood bank screening for the virus in the late 1980s, some previous transplant and blood transfusion recipients were also at risk. The virus is spread via blood-to-blood contact with lower rates of sexual transmission than commonly thought.

Hepatitis generally refers to liver inflammation. In hepatitis C infection, symptoms may not appear until liver damage has occurred, which can take a decade or more. If the body cannot clear the virus on its own, chronic infection and liver disease ensues. Most hepatitis C cases are chronic, and there is no cure though intense treatments can prevent liver damage.

Image: Hepatitis-induced jaundice (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Yellowing of the eyes is one of the characteristic signs of liver disease.

Hepatitis C explained

Hepatitis C: Symptoms and treatment

Hepatitis C: Surviving the treatment

Hepatitis C Treatment

Peginterferon: A chemically altered version of alpha interferon, the original treatment for the disease a decade ago. Alpha interferon is a protein made by the human body in response to viral infection. Pegylated interferon (peginterferon for short) has an added polyehtylene glycol molecule, which prolongs the half-life of the drug and increases the efficacy of treatment while reducing the burden of treatment on the patient.

For more information on available formulations, see the NIH website.

Ribavirin: A nucleoside analog, an antiviral agent effective at limiting the spread of viruses within the body, that increases the response rate to peginterferon 2 to 3-fold when given in combination therapy for Hepatitis C, but it does not have intrinsic actions against the virus.