Leonard B. Seeff – 10 February 2006 – Much controversy surrounds the issue of the natural history of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Many authorities view the disease as inexorably progressive with a high probability of advancing over time to cirrhosis and occasionally hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and, therefore, likely to be responsible for causing death.
10 February 2006
Karen L. Lindsay – 10 February 2006 – Since the 1997 National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference on management of hepatitis C there have been several important advances that significantly impact its therapy; notably the availability of sensitive, specific, and standardized assays for identifying hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in the serum, the addition of ribavirin to alpha interferon, the pegylation of alpha interferon, and the demonstration that sustained virological response (SVR) is the optimal surrogate endpoint of treatment.
Gary L. Davis – 10 February 2006 – Alpha interferon therapy of chronic hepatitis C is typically accompanied by a biphasic decrease in hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA levels: an initial rapid decline during the first 24 to 48 hours, and a second more gradual decline during the following weeks. The rate of second‐phase decline correlates with ultimate response to interferon treatment. Thus, assessment of early virological response (EVR) may predict outcome.
Alfredo Alberti, Silvia Boccato, Alessandro Vario, Luisa Benvegnù – 10 February 2006 – Acute hepatitis C has a high propensity to become chronic, which provides the rationale for treating patients with acute disease attempting to prevent chronicity. Almost all published studies on therapy of acute hepatitis C have been small in size, uncontrolled, and highly heterogeneous as to patient features, dose and duration of treatment, follow‐up evaluation, and criteria used to define efficacy and safety.