A multitasking immune protein once pursued as a treatment to rev up the body’s defenses might work better at toning them down. The compound, called interleukin-2, can halt and even reverse aberrant immune reactions where standard treatment has failed, French and U.S. research teams report in the Dec. 1 new England Journal of Medicine.

Interleukin-2, or IL-2, is a signaling protein that has been approved for use against cancer and was also tried as an immune booster for fighting HIV, the AIDS virus. but despite some success against melanoma and kidney cancer, IL-2 has been a disappointment. It turns out that IL-2 does more than send immune fighters into battle. It also ratchets down these defenses by triggering production of T regulatory cells, or T-regs, which keep other immune troops in line. That quality could benefit patients with disorders in which the immune system attacks healthy tissues, such as lupus, multiple sclerosis or rheumatoid arthritis.

Both new studies take advantage of IL-2’s alter ego. Low-dose injections of the protein boosted T-reg levels, dampening immunity and improving symptoms in half of the U.S. patients, who had complications arising from bone marrow transplants, and in nearly all of the French patients, who had problems related to hepatitis C.

Although the small studies are “more like case reports,” the early findings could signal a major shift in IL-2 use, says Jeffrey Bluestone, an immunologist at the University of California, San Francisco who wasn’t involved in the studies. “It might be a tricky balancing act, but perhaps IL-2 at the right doses at the right times can promote T-regs preferentially” and quell immune mutiny. The researchers in France identified 10 hepatitis C patients who had a reaction called vasculitis in which their immune systems unleash rogue antibodies that damage blood vessels. Giving the patients daily IL-2 injections on and off over 10 weeks improved symptoms in eight of the 10 patients. Levels of T-regs in these patients more than tripled during IL-2 treatment, but levels of the hepatitis C virus in the patients also fell, suggesting that the treatment didn’t shut off normal defenses, says study coauthor David Klatzmann, an immunologist at Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris.

In the U.S. study, hematologist John Koreth of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and his colleagues monitored 23 people who had received a bone marrow transplant for leukemia or lymphoma. In these people, the donor cells were attacking their new host, a complication called graft-versus-host disease. Steroids or other medication had failed to control the condition.

IL-2 injections over eight weeks stabilized the graft-versus-host disease in 11 of the patients and relieved symptoms in the other 12, who showed fewer skin lesions, improved liver function and better mobility. Ten patients have continued on IL-2 for the long term, and some of them no longer need immune suppressant drugs, Koreth says.

Previous attempts to use T-regs directly as a treatment proved complicated since that required growing the cells in culture. Simply giving low doses of IL-2 lets the body do that work, says Thomas Malek, an immunologist at the University of Miami who wasn’t involved in the studies. The key, he says, will be careful dosing of IL-2 to ensure, with its multiple talents, that it doesn’t switch on the wrong immune cells.

Klatzmann’s team has now turned to using IL-2 against type 1 diabetes, while the Boston scientists are exploring the use of IL-2 earlier in the course of graft-versus-host disease.  

Found in: Body & Brain

Health care costs for hepatitis C patients with end-stage liver disease are nearly 2.5 times higher than those in the early stages, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.

Although infection with the hepatitis C virus increases health care costs overall, the specific impact of the disease’s progressive severity on health care costs has previously not been well studied.

“The severity of hepatitis C-related liver disease increases with age, and the aging hepatitis C population is likely to increase the economic burden of the infection on our health care system,” says Stuart C. Gordon, M.D., director of Hepatology at Henry Ford Hospital and lead author of the study.

The results of the study will be presented at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases in San Francisco this week.

It is estimated that the majority of the four million Americans with chronic hepatitis C virus infection remain undiagnosed and thus untreated. the increasing disease prevalence has created an aging population of patients with chronic hepatitis C infection and a resultant increase in the number of patients with cirrhosis, and, subsequently, the complications of cirrhosis (end-stage liver disease).

The Henry Ford study compared the economic burden for U.S. patients with chronic hepatitis C stratified by severity of liver disease in a large private health insurance claims database from 2003 to 2010. the database included claims for all prescription medications and all medical services submitted for payment.

Researchers looked at 53,796 patients with chronic hepatitis C: 41,858 (78%) without cirrhosis, 3,718 (7%) with compensated cirrhosis, and 8,220 (15%) with end-stage liver disease. mean age was 49 years, 51 years, and 52 years respectively.

Mean health care costs (per month) were 32% and 247% higher for patients with compensated cirrhosis ($1,870) and end-stage liver disease ($4,931), compared to those without cirrhosis ($1,420) and these results were independent of age.

A similar trend is apparent for mean hepatitis C-related health care costs. Overall, 56% of total costs were hepatitis C-related and this proportion increased with disease severity (46%, 57%, and 71% for patients without cirrhosis, compensated cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, respectively).

Pharmacy, ambulatory, and inpatient care accounted for 90% of costs for hepatitis C patients without cirrhosis and 93% of the costs for those with compensated cirrhosis and end-stage liver disease.

The study estimated the annual health care costs to be $24,176 for patients with chronic hepatitis C infection. When looked at by disease stage, average annual costs were estimated to be $17,277 among patients with no cirrhosis, $22,752 among patients with compensated cirrhosis, and $59,995 annually among patients with end-stage liver disease.

Dr. Gordon indicated that the primary drivers of higher health care expenses were found to be inpatient costs for patients with end-stage liver disease and pharmacy costs for patients with compensated cirrhosis.

“As we see patients with more advanced liver disease, we see significantly more costs to the system. the key, therefore, is to treat and cure the infection early to prevent the consequences of more advanced disease and the associated economic burden,” says Dr. Gordon.

Current treatment for hepatitis C involves a cocktail of three drugs taken for 24-48 weeks with viral clearance “cure” rates of 65-80 percent.

Most people who are infected with hepatitis C remain without symptoms for years. the infection may lead to scarring of the liver (cirrhosis), liver cancer, the need for liver transplant, and potentially death

Provided by Henry Ford Health system (news : web)

How is it that with Hepatitis C, some cases are asymptomatic? if inflammation is occurring, then shouldn't something be happening to the body as a result? What's the science behind this?
Thanks in advance

Most people who were recently infected with hepatitis C do not have symptoms. about 10% have jaundice that gets better. Of people who get infected with HCV, most develop chronic HCV infection. usually there are no symptoms.
The following tests are done to identify and monitor liver damage from hepatitis C:
* Albumin level
* Liver function tests
* Prothrombin time

Carol Ware Duff  MSN, BA, RN: Hepatitis C virus can destroy your liver.

Hepatitis C Virus Can Cause Liver Failure

Becoming infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) creates a disease of the liver which can lead to a chronic infection and is now the leading cause of liver illness. Vaccines against hepatitis a and hepatitis B exist, but no vaccine is available for this form of hepatitis. 

For those who develop chronic hepatitis C, the chance of developing cirrhosis of the liver is between 20 percent and 30 percent within 20 to 30 years.  

Acute HCV infections have become rarer, but still occur and will eventually produce a chronic infection in between 70  and 80 percent of those who do become infected with the hepatitis C virus.  

While the United States has seen a decrease in cases of chronic HCV, up to 210 million people may be affected by HCV infection and HCV has become the leading cause of liver cancers in Europe.  According to the CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), during the middle of the 1980s approximately 70 Americans out of every million of the population developed acute hepatitis C.  There has been a 90 percent decrease in cases of acute hepatitis C between the years of 1994 and 2006 with about seven new cases per million.  

According to the CDC, between 2007 and 2009 there has been an increase in hepatitis C cases in the 15 to 24 age group with the use of shared needles and a history of taking drugs through the nose.  While Massachusetts has been the first state to report this increase, there is a fear that this trend may be spreading to other states. 

How Can someone be Infected with HCV?

Hepatitis C can be spread by blood to blood contact which in developed countries may be through blood transfusions of unscreened blood or blood products (clotting factors, platelets, immunoglobulin, plasma, and Rhogam), although due to vigorous screening measures, there has been no documented transfusion-related case of hepatitis C in the U.S. for over ten years.  

Two other infection sources are shared needles during injected drug use or rarely through sexual exposure.  unlike the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV,) there must be opened sores (some sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) produce sores which can bleed) or the ability of blood products to be passed directly to another person’s blood supply during sexual activity.  before the screening process for hepatitis C virus, there were cases of hepatitis C infection in those who received organ donations from an infected person. 

In developing countries the primary source of HCV infection is from unsterilized needles and inadequately screened blood and blood products but all the above mentioned conditions can also be a factor in the spread of HCV infection.

Occupational accidental blood exposure, due to blood spatter or accidental sticks from infected needles, can occur.  Contact sports can also result in blood to blood exposure.  Improperly sterilized dental and medical equipment may harbor the virus.  Needles and injection equipment, hemodialysis equipment,  jet air guns, and oral hygiene instruments can all be sources of virus exposure if they are not adequately sterilized. 

 Tattoos and body piercings can be a source of transmission of HCV if the instruments have been used on someone with HCV and have not been adequately sterilized. Personal items such as  razors, manicuring scissors, pedicure equipment, and toothbrushes and dental floss, cancer sores and cold sores may become contaminated with blood.  Any issue that produces bleeding can be the cause of spread of HCV from person to person. 

HCV can be passed from the mother to the neonate (vertical transmission) infrequently during the delivery process.  In mothers who are HCV RNA positive at the time of delivery the risk of transmission is six out of 100 deliveries and among women who are both HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and HCV positive during delivery the transmission will be approximately 25 out of 100. 

Approximately 60 percent of hepatitis C viral infection comes from injection drug use, 15 percent from sexual contact, 10 percent from blood transfusions before screening, 10 percent unknown, and 5 percent  from other ( contamination, hemodialysis, health care work and passed from mother to neaonate during the birth process).  

Acute and Chronic Hepatitis C

Acute hepatitis C refers to the first 6 months after infection with HCV although symptoms may appear within a day if infection was caused by any method of intravenous injection. Between 60% and 70% of people infected develop no symptoms during the acute phase unless infection was caused by direct access to the blood stream as crossing the blood brain barrier is then made up to 100 times easier. Main symptoms consist of general cold and flu like symptoms. In the minority of patients who experience acute phase symptoms, they are generally mild and nonspecific, and rarely lead to a specific diagnosis of hepatitis C. Symptoms of acute hepatitis C infection include decreased appetite, fatigue, abdominal pain, jaundice, itching, and flu-like symptoms.

The natural course of chronic hepatitis C varies considerably from one person to another. Although almost all people infected with HCV have evidence of inflammation on liver biopsy, the rate of progression of liver scarring (fibrosis) shows significant variability among individuals. accurate estimates of the risk over time are difficult to establish because of the limited time that tests for this virus have been available.

Recent data suggest that among untreated patients, roughly one-third progress to liver cirrhosis in less than 20 years. another third progress to cirrhosis within 30 years. the remainder of those infected with HCV appear to progress so slowly that they are unlikely to develop cirrhosis within their lifetimes.

Factors that have been reported to influence the rate of HCV disease progression include age (increasing age associated with more rapid progression), gender (males have more rapid disease progression than females), alcohol consumption (associated with an increased rate of disease progression), HIV co-infection (associated with a markedly increased rate of disease progression), and fatty liver (the presence of fat in liver cells has been associated with an increased rate of disease progression).

Symptoms specifically suggestive of liver disease are typically absent until substantial scarring of the liver has occurred. however, hepatitis C is a systemic disease and patients may experience a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations ranging from an absence of symptoms to a more symptomatic illness prior to the development of advanced liver disease. Generalized signs and symptoms associated with chronic hepatitis C include fatigue, flu-like symptoms, joint pains, itching, sleep disturbances, appetite changes, nausea, and depression.

Once chronic hepatitis C has progressed to cirrhosis, signs and symptoms may appear that are generally caused by either decreased liver function or increased pressure in the liver circulation, a condition known as portal hypertension. possible signs and symptoms of liver cirrhosis include ascites (accumulation of fluid in the abdomen), bruising and bleeding tendency, varices (enlarged veins, especially in the stomach and esophagus which may unexpectedly rupture and cause uncontrolled bleeding), jaundice, and a syndrome of cognitive impairment known as hepatic encephalopathy.  Hepatic encephalopathy is due to the accumulation of ammonia and other substances normally cleared by a healthy liver.

What exactly is Hepatitis C?

Hepatitis C is one of the five known hepatitis viruses (A, B, C, D, E) caused by the hepatitis C virus which infects the liver.  sometimes a person will have no outward symptoms of having this infection, but once the virus is firmly established in the body the infection can lead to liver scarring (fibrosis) and then to advance scarring (cirrhosis).  Cirrhosis may take many years to develop.   Eventually there can be liver failure which could lead to the need for a liver transplant and/ or to liver cancer.  the newly transplanted liver will then become subject to the hepatitis C virus if the virus is still active in a person. 

Medical history can be a key to suspected chronic hepatitis C infection.  Key factors would be history of IV drug use or inhaled substance use, a history of tattoos and/ or piercings, abnormal liver function tests and enzymes found during routine blood testing, unexplained symptoms, and infrequently during screenings for routine blood donation. 

Hepatitis C is passed from person to person through blood contact.  Acute hepatitis C denotes the first six months after infection.  Symptoms are those of the common cold and flu with a decreased appetite, feeling tired, abdominal pain, jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes), and itching.  Sixty to 70 percent of those infected will have no immediate symptoms unless the viral infection was caused by the direct entrance to the blood stream (sharing of needles with infected person).  the hepatitis C virus is usually detectable within one to three weeks after infection and antibodies will be present in the subsequent three to fifteen weeks after infection.  Many people exposed to the hepatitis C virus will be able to automatically rid themselves of the virus during this acute phase. 

Persistent infections are common and most of these patients develop chronic hepatitis C which by definition is the infection lasting more than six months.  Again, chronic infection with the hepatitis C virus may produce no symptoms for the patient, although it is the leading cause of liver disease in the United States.  the course of chronic infection can vary from person to person, but generally there will be an inflammation of the liver with eventual scarring.  the amount of and timing of the scarring is variable.  if left untreated, one third of those infected will develop cirrhosis of the liver in less time than twenty years and another one third will take thirty years to progress to full cirrhosis.  the remaining one third will develop cirrhosis so slowly that they will probably die before developing cirrhosis.   Increasing age, alcohol consumption, and fatty liver (presence of fat cells in the liver) have all been associated with the progression of the disease.   Symptoms of chronic infection may be joint pains, fatigue, flu-like symptoms, disturbances in sleep patterns, itching, depression, nausea, and alteration in appetite.

Chronic hepatitis C, which has progressed to cirrhosis, will present with the symptoms normally associated with liver disease.  These would be due to increased pressure in the liver circulatory system (portal hypertension)  and/or a decreased ability of the liver to function.  Signs of liver cirrhosis are jaundice, accumulation of fluid in the abdomen (ascites), increased bruising and bleeding, enlarged veins in the stomach and esophagus which are apt to bleed (possibly to the extent of causing death due to abrupt blood loss), and hepatic encephalopathy which is caused by the accumulation of byproducts (ammonia) of normal food usage, but accompanied by the inability of the liver to filter out these harmful byproducts. 

Co-infection with HCV and HIV occurs in approximately 35 percent of the patients in the U.S.  both diseases are blood- borne and can be present in related populations.   the addition of HCV in a person with HIV will generally cause a more rapid progression of chronic hepatitis C to cirrhosis and then to liver failure.  There are treatments for patients with both HIV and HCV infections. 

Treatments

The scope of this article does not deal with the specifics of drug treatments.  Your healthcare provider would be your best source of information on treatments.   Currently treatments with interferon (pegylated interferon alpha) and ribavirin (anti-viral)  are used, but there are ongoing studies and drug developments. 

References

Crax, Antonio.  Journal of Hepatology online February 28, jhep-elsevier.com/home.

Hendrik, Bill.  Signs of Rise in Hepatitis C Cases Among Young. Accessed on May 12, 2011.  medscape.com/viewarticle/742550

Loomba, R., M. M. Rivera, R. McBurney,  Y. Park; V. Haynes-Williams,  B. Rehermann; H. J. Alter,S. K. Herrine, T. J. Liang, J. H. Hoofnagle & T. Helle.  the Natural History of Acute Hepatitis C: Clinical Presentation, Laboratory Findings and Treatment Outcomes.  Posted: 05/05/2011; Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics. 2011;33(5):559-565. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing

Short URL: veteranstoday.com/?p=102985

The Regent Park Community Health Center in Toronto helps patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) prepare for or complete treatment. the facility offers a wide range of services, from assistance with housing and disability benefits to legal counsel.”Anything we can deal with upfront, we do,” said Laura Hanson, a registered nurse at Regent Park. “We have really strong, strong interdisciplinary teams. Nurses, coordinators, family doctors, specialists … and clients get support from their groups, too,” said RN Emily Cooper. a typical patient support group includes between 15 and 20 people meeting for 16 weekly sessions.

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Regent Park staff measure success in part by the number of patients who remain in the support program. “Most of them do,” said Cooper. “Week after week. And the treatment is no walk in the park. So we’re pretty sure the program’s working.”

HCV treatment usually takes from six to 12 months. Treatment side effects are mental and physical, and can include flu-like symptoms, muscle aches, rashes, and thinning of the hair. “Psychologically, I’ve heard it called like going from an acoustic to an electric guitar,” noted Cooper. “It’ll amplify anything that’s already there. It’s very intense.”

Most of Regent Park’s clients contracted HCV through drug use. “It’s spread by blood-to-blood contact, so either it’s shared injection equipment or crack stems. … some people aren’t even sure how they got it.”

Toronto “is relatively on the right track” in its approach to substance abuse, said Cooper. “Access to safer supplies would be a good thing,” she said, adding, “It’s important to get the word out that hepatitis C is preventable.”

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Inflammation of the liver is a disorder that is also called hepatitis.

There are a number of different forms of liver inflammation. Liver inflammation caused by a virus, therefore called a viral infection, is the kind that happens most often. Viral infections may be acute, or they may be chronic. Viral forms of hepatitis are commonly known by alphabetical names like hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, etc. These names are often abbreviated HAV, HBV, HCV, HDV and HEV HFV and HGV.

Hepatitis B and C can be exceptionally hazardous, possibly resulting in serious, even critical diseases such as cirrhosis or liver cancer.

Alcohol is another cause of liver swelling. Overuse of alcohol over a period of years will eventually result in inflammation, which could lead to cirrhosis. Alcoholic hepatitis is three times as common as hepatitis C.

Liver inflammation can also be caused by a variety of chemicals and drugs. there are a number of chemicals and drugs that can lead to an inflamed liver too. This even includes legal drugs, like pain medications, which can be overused or improperly used. the amount of inflammation caused by drugs and chemicals depends on what was used, how long it was used, and how much was used. the general state of health of the user is also important. that said, it should be noted that recreational and illegal drugs can be extremely dangerous, even when used in small amounts for a relatively short time.

There are also a number of diseases and disorders that result in liver inflammation. Some of these are related to liver function, but others are not. two of the most common disorders are hemachromatosis (an excess accumulation of iron) and Wilson’s disease (characterized by an accumulation of copper). An inflamed liver can also result from autoimmune disorders, yellow fever and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Symptoms of an inflamed liver vary depending on the cause. But generally speaking, four symptoms are predictable.

Jaundice is characterized by yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes. many people call this disorder “yellow jaundice” for this reason, although use of the word yellow is redundant.

Lowered appetite is another telltale sign of inflammation of the liver. This also causes someone with inflammation of the liver to lose weight because they don’t eat enough. this sign is particularly noticeable with forms of acute hepatitis. there are also likely to be episodes of nausea and vomiting sometime after this.

Deep chronic fatigue is another one of the symptoms of inflammation of the liver. When you think about it, this makes sense because your liver contributes to your metabolism. If your liver is compromised by inflammation, your energy levels are bound to drop. It’s also very common to feel waek and listless.

Tenderness and soreness in the joints and muscles are also characteristic of inflammation of the liver. It could go on for several weeks.

Hepatitis can cause pain in a variety of ways. In addition to muscle and joint pain, mentioned above, there could pain in liver area, and soreness or tenderness in the right shoulder. the level of this pain varies with the cause and how far the inflammation has advanced.

Happily, there is no treatment necessary for acute viral hepatitis, because it usually heals itself with time. Certain medications and antivirals may be useful for hepatitis B and C. These include and ribavirin and interferon. Corticisteroids are often prescribed for patients with forms of autoimmune hepatitis.

Anyone who has inflammation of the liver should not drink alcohol and should also avoid taking any drugs, medications or pain relievers without consulting a doctor.

For more information on this and related topics, click on signs of liver inflammation and what are the causes of liver pain.

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1. Alcoholic Hepatitis And Its Risk To Your Liver
2. What are the Dangers of Enlarged Liver
3. How Worried should you Be about Liver Pain?
4. What Liver Conditions cause Liver Enlargement?
5. Stomach Discomfort from Liver Pain

Other people asked questions on various topics, and are stillwaiting for answer. Would be great if you can take a sec andanswer them

can you catch Hepatitis C from saliva?I have a very touchy situation. My mom has hep c. She keeps feeding our 9 month old child from herspoon ice cream etc. we have a shaky relationship anyway so I don’t want to make a problem but this scares me even though chances of him getting it are small. help!!

WilliamGHep C is usually transmitted through sexual contact.

EricTheoretically yabut I’m not sure on the chances

NamaleI understand that you don’t want to create problems with your Mum, but the health of your child must come first. I think you need to talk to her about your concerns.Hepatitis C is normally transmitted via blood. but there is some new evidence to suggest that it is possible that saliva contact could be a risk (see the second link below) and people with Hep C are advised not to share toothbrushes. It is also worth taking into account that a lot of us suffer from bleeding gums.Don’t ignore your feelings. your child is probably picking up on your fears and this needs dealing with.I wish you all the best with this.

PeterHep a, B, Non a, Non B, C, Etc… There are many.

One simple rule I used to learn these a long time ago was that:

Hep a – was transmitted via a fecal oral route. so I called it ASS.

Hep B – was transmitted via Blood and body fluids. so I called it Blood.

Hep C – could be transmitted more than one way and so I called it could.

Now, there is a small book and an even bigger place called the World Health Organization. The WHO which is a big entity that produces results from testing and also recommends what immunizations we should get and at what age and so on. as a healthcare professional I had to be immunized against Hep a and B and C and whatever else they added to it. then I got a blood test to see if the immunizations worked. so my blood said it was ready to fight off the disease if introduced but not that I was positive for it.

OK, now for one thing, there is a book called control of communicable disease in man. Published by guess who? That is right the WHO. so, the information is readily available in most hospital libraries and in general libraries. but, You will also be able to look up the signs, symptoms and modes of contagion through these sources online. I am 100% certain you will be able to edify yourself with the FACTS of how Hep C is transmitted. The route that you described is called fomite. Fomite is any inanimate object like a screwdriver or a doorknob or a spoon. usually the transmission of Hep is by direct contact.

For a, a food handler does not wash hands after using the bathroom, then goes and washes lettuce and puts it out on the salad bar. then they go through all the other ingredients and refresh the salad bar. The contaminants from his unwashed hands, fester on the uncooked food items, then we ingest them. there you have it.

For B, sexual intercourse without protection and the exchange of bodily fluids. Blood transfusion, IV drug abuse, etc.

For C, well you should go read about it. You probably already know what it is.

Now, another consideration. if your Mom had Hep C for a long time, like even before having you, you could have it as well. but I understand about the whole situation. I think if it were my baby, I would say, “please do not feed my baby with your utensils” and leave it at that. if a discussion about it comes up, Know you are protecting the health of your baby and calmly say that you are very concerned about the possible transmission of hepatitis to your child. if that does not take care of it, then I say to you, make a decision and stick with it. if your Mom does not like what you had to say, at least you can be sure that you said without being disrespectful and that you are merely protecting your child from an uncertainty.

Besides that, The data you need to be sure of is, whether or not there is any other form of Hep or contagious disease process at hand. if you find out that it is only Hep C than you can look it up and see what the mode of transmission is. if the saliva is a risky behavior or not.

Now when I learned about HIV, I found out that it could be transmitted through saliva. I was really concerned by that and then when I studied communicable diseases and became an HIV/Aids educator, I learned that the amount of saliva it would take to transmit it was like a gallon. That is something to be taken with a grain of salt so try not to use that as a fact of reference or anything.

I hope that I have helped you at least one little bit. It is way late and I have typos here but I think if you get yourself educated with the facts on Hep C you will be in better shape to make a decision.

One other place that you can go and get free info, the public health department. There is literature and you could probably ask someone some questions too. I know that they have people that do education for the public in those places.

Your healthcare provider or the nurse should be able to answer some questions over the phone too.

LINDA RHep C is NOT transmitted through saliva. Hep C can be transmitted through blood, such as sharing needles for drug use. because Hep C survives outside the body for up to 4 days, and people can cut themselves while shaving, or have bleeding gums while brushing teeth, Hep C can also be transmitted through sharing razors or toothbrushes. Hep C can also be transmitted through sharing tattoo needles, tattoo ink, or piercings, for the same reasons.

Hep C can be transmitted through sex, but sexual transmission of Hep C is rare.

What do you think? answer below! Explains the prevention, causes, symptoms, modes of transmission, and treatment of hepatitis C.

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• can you catch Hepatitis C from saliva?
• Reduction of Insulin Resistance With Effective Clearance of Hepatitis C Infection: Results From…
• Can Hepatitis B transmitted from one person to another through food?
• How long after recovering from acute Hepatitis B can I drink alcohol again?

January 24th, 2011 by ghost

Hepatitis C is an illness that causes the liver to inflammate and damages it in time. It is triggered by viruses that are transmitted from blood to blood get in touch with with an infected person, and it affects millions of men and women all over the world. Some of the hepatitis C infections will not be dangerous, but a lot of of them can turn into chronic hepatitis which can be deadly.

when hepatitis C symptoms do appear, they range in severity.

The hepatitis C virus is the trigger of hepatitis C. this virus is also commonly identified by the abbreviation HCV. most of the time, an exchange of blood is required to transmit the virus from a single particular person to another. The most frequent suggests of transmitting the hepatitis C virus in the United States is via the exchange of unclean hypodermic needles by intravenous drug users.

Chronic hepatitis C, which is really a significant liver disease, develops in 2 of each three people who’ve an acute hepatitis C infection.

When people get infected using the hepatitis C virus they enter the acute hepatitis phase. Acute hepatitis lasts for 6 months and though in this phase the virus is “hibernating” and it’s not causing any trouble. But in most situations the virus is nonetheless present right after 6 months, becomes active, and acute hepatitis C turns into chronic hepatitis C.

Chronic hepatitis C is difficult due to the fact it has practically no symptoms and for this reason it cannot be discovered until it is too late. Even the jaundice that seems throughout the acute phase is often gone. in a lot of cases it is discovered accidentally while routine tests are performed on the patient.

According to recent studies, as a lot of as one individual in each and every thirty worldwide has been infected with the hepatitis C virus. that quantities to approximately 170 million individuals. There’s evidence that 15 % of the population in some parts of Asia and Africa are infected with hepatitis C. Egypt is believed to have the highest infection rate in the world, exceeding 15 percent.

However signs and symptoms do take place when critical damage is executed to the liver and it doesn’t function properly. Probably the most typical signs that seem at most people today are fever along with other flu-like symptoms, headache, decrease in appetite, fatigue, abdominal, joint and bone pain.

If you liked this article you might also like finding out about Signs of Hepatitis as well as Hepatitis Contagious.

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The performance of a variety of brain tumors, so the above symptoms should be promptly throat to the hospital for detailed examination of the hepatitis C, the current computer tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of brain tumor patients can make an early diagnosis.

1 headache

Weight about 1400 grams of soft brain and hold it between the cranial bone, there remain a very small gap, no space, occupy the certain brain tumors, will cause increased intracranial pressure, the resulting severe headache. Headache law is often in the early morning attack, often in emotional pain, sleep, wake up to be, but to get up

Activity, the headache will gradually ease and go away.

2, vomiting

Because of the increased intracranial pressure, leading to nutritional medullary respiratory center is stimulated, thereby vomiting man throat symptoms. after the headache and vomiting occurred more than men, mostly jet-like, male characters often spitting vomiting scattered around everywhere.

3, visual impairment

Under normal circumstances the eye from the eye back into the cerebral venous blood, increased intracranial pressure, makes the poor venous return, resulting in stasis edema, retinal damage on the visual cells of diarrhea, resulting in decreased vision. Severe retinal fundus little early, linear, sheet, or even the flame

Like bleeding, blurred visual distortion, or even blindness.

4, psychosis

Located in front of the brain’s frontal lobe brain tumor, cholesterol can damage the frontal lobe neural activity, causing excitement, restlessness, depression, depression, forgetfulness, fiction and other abnormalities.

5, unilateral limb paresthesia

Located in the middle of the parietal cerebral hemisphere specifically to deal with feelings, the brain area often leads to unilateral limb pain, temperature, vibration, physical discrimination of decline or disappear.

6, olfactory, or strangeness Magic

Department of Prevention of temporal lobe tumor can occur in the stimulation phantom smell, smell a does not exist, such as burnt rice, the smell of burnt rubber, and sometimes smell the tangy taste. Department of Cancer Prevention temporal lobe can also check the patient attention to its strangeness in people (actually very familiar with), the Throat symptoms more than a short, generally occur only ten seconds to minutes.

7, staggering gait, speech impulse

Little more specific brain localization throat symptoms, which patients often pay attention to headache, vomiting, and visual material obstacles to men, the emergence of hemiplegia know or drunken staggering gait. Accompanying by verbal impulse, not allowed to extract physical defense, not too far is inadequate.

8, tinnitus, deafness

This phenomenon was found more taboo in the call, that one ear can hear, not the other ear is deaf, hearing that the phenomenon is more a precursor of cholesterol neuroma.

9, gigantism

The disease prevalent in the pituitary tumor, the patient showed rapid growth, there acromegaly.

10, child growth and development of stagnation

More common in craniopharyngioma, clinical manifestations of the body is only 15-16 years old 5-6 years old children with high normal flu, sexual characteristics are not developed, the belly full of fat character

I've been suffering with the stiffness on my back since september, now its december and still I had a little bit stiffness in my back, my eyes is always like I have just woke up, I feel a sensation on my right upper quadrant abdominal are just below inside my ribs, and I feel a little bit weak. Please anybody help me about this. I am so anxious about this. could this be hepatitis c?

It doesn't sound like it…See a doctor and get tested. it's a simple blood test.

if you can't afford to see a doctor, donate blood and they will test it and notify you.