Hepatits C Treatment

Hepatitis C is an infectious disease of the liver caused by hepatitis C virus, spread by sexual contact (rare) or contact with blood or blood-contaminated items, such as needles. According to the CDC, symptoms include jaundice (yellowed skin), nausea and abdominal discomfort, but most people have no symptoms initially. The infection disappears completely in about 15 to 20 percent of people, while the rest develop a chronic infection that eventually results in 70 percent having chronic liver disease, sometimes requiring liver transplant. Three different genotypes (forms) of the disease are common in the United States.

Medications

• According to the National Digestive Disease Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC), only two drugs have proven effective against hepatitis C. Pegylated interferon (peginterferon) boosts the immune system so that it can destroy the hepatitis C virus and prevent the virus from replicating (making copies), but peginterferon by itself is only about 35 percent effective. Ribavirin is an antiviral drug, but it is not effective alone against the virus. However, it boosts the effectiveness of peginterferon, increasing its effectiveness to about 55 percent. A combination of these two drugs is the current preferred drug treatment regimen unless you are unable to take ribavirin and can take only peginterferon.

  One problem with treatment is that you may have a relapse of hepatitis C after treatment ends, so the virus count in your blood may go down initially, but when checked 6 months later, it may appear again. In some cases, retreatment may be effective. Genotypes 2 and 3 respond more effectively to combination therapy, but genotype 1 is most common in the United States.

Other Treatment

• According to the National Institutes of Health, treatment is usually given for 24 to 48 weeks (depending on genotype), and the medications must be taken consistently to be effective, but up to 14 percent of those taking the medications drop out of treatment because of side effects, which include flu-like symptoms, blood abnormalities and psychiatric disturbances, especially depression. You should be carefully monitored during therapy and may need to take anti-depressant drugs to combat the depressive effects of the treatment. If you have had hepatitis C and develop chronic liver failure and have a liver transplant, you will usually have recurrence of hepatitis C because of the immunosuppressive drugs you must take to prevent rejection of your new liver.

Considerations

• If you are pregnant or your wife/partner is pregnant, you cannot receive ribavirin because it can cause severe birth defects or the death of the fetus, even at low doses. All females of child-bearing age must have tests showing they are not pregnant prior to treatment, and both males and females of child-bearing age must use two forms of birth control during treatment and must continue birth control for at least 6 months after treatment ends.

  Alcohol can further injure the liver and cause liver disease to progress faster, so abstinence is the safest. But you should at least limit your drinks to one or two daily, and you should have no alcohol during anti-viral treatment because alcohol reduces the treatment's effectiveness.