TREATING CHRONIC HEPATITIS C
Approximately 300 million people are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) worldwide. In the United States, where about 2 percent of the population is infected with HCV, chronic hepatitis C is the most common reason for a person to require a liver transplant. Approximately 730 liver transplants due to chronic hepatitis C are performed each year. It is estimated that approximately 8,000 to 10,000 Americans die each year from chronic hepatitis C. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates that without effective treatment, this number could triple within the next few decades. However, chronic hepatitis C should not be viewed as inevitably leading to death. It is important to keep in mind that some effective treatments are available and that some new and improved treatments are being developed. So, it is unlikely if people with chronic hepatitis C seek appropriate medical care that this estimated future death toll will be a reality. In fact, many people with chronic hepatitis C live a long and healthy life. Some do not even require therapy at all.
The goals of therapy are to suppress viral activity and replication, to decrease inflammation in and damage to the liver, to prevent future inflammation and liver damage, to decrease a person’s chances of progressing to cirrhosis and liver cancer, and to diminish any symptoms that are present. These goals are capable of being achieved – but only through antiviral therapy.
Therapy for chronic hepatitis C has advanced greatly since the discovery of the hepatitis C virus in 1989. Response rates to interferon treatment, which hovered around 10 percent in the early 1990’s have increased to greater than 50 percent thanks to the latest breakthrough in treatment- pegylated interferon and ribavirin combination therapy.
All contents of this article are Copyright © Melissa Palmer, MD
Melissa Palmer, MD is the author of " Dr. Melissa Palmer's Guide of Hepatitis and Liver Disease". (Published 2004. Penguin Putnam).
Dr. Palmer is an internationally renowned hepatologist who has been practicing medicine since 1985. Prior to 2012, she maintained perhaps the largest medical practice devoted to liver disease in the United States. Dr. Palmer is Clinical Professor of Medicine at New York University Medical Center. Dr. Palmer graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. and was trained in hepatology (as well as medical school) at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.
Dr. Palmer is Board Certified in Gastroenterology and in Internal Medicine.
She has authored numerous scientific publications in the field of hepatology in such peer-reviewed journals as Hepatology, Gastroenterology, Seminars of Liver Disease, Transplantation and Archives of Internal Medicine.
She is frequently called upon by the media for her opinion on various topics related to liver disease. Dr. Palmer has appeared many times on television as a liver disease expert and has been quoted in such publications as TIME magazine, Cosmopolitan magazine, Prevention magazine, the Los Angeles Times, and Newsday. She also has appeared in numerous videos and CD-Roms aimed at educating doctors and the public about hepatitis C and other liver diseases, such as primary biliary cirrhosis. Dr. Palmer lectures to the medical and general public on liver disease-related topics on a regular basis.
Dr. Palmer has performed numerous clinical trials on various experimental medications for the treatment of hepatitis.
Dr. Palmer is currently available for lecturing, investor and hedge-fund consultations, consultations to industry, and media interviews and appearances-- including television. For such matters, she can be contacted through hepatitismedia@gmail.com.