Author/Editor		Matičič, M; Meglič-Volkar, J; Brinovec, V; Lešničar, G; Baklan, Z; Rajter, M; Poljak, M; Ferlan-Marolt, V; Luzar, B
Title		Treatment of viral hepatitis C
Type		članek
Source		In: Ferlan-Marolt V, Luzar B, editors. Viral hepatitis. Proceedings of the 35th memorial meeting to professor Janez Plečnik with international participation; 2004 Dec 2-3; Ljubljana. Ljubljana: Faculty of medicine, Institute of pathology,
Publication year		2004
Volume		str. 131-40
Language		eng
Abstract		The global prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection is estimated to 170 million. The HCV infection becomes chronic in about 85% of infected and may lead to cirrhosis in 5-30% of cases and hepatocellular carcinoma in 1-4% annually. The overall effective treatment of chronic hepatitis C is not available. There are two goals of the treatment of hepatitis C: the first is to eradicate the virus; if the virus is not eradicated the second role is to prevent progression to cirrhosis and the complications of cirrhosis. The currently recommended treatment is the combination of pegylated interferon alpha and ribavirin, achieving the sustained viral response in 42-46% in genotype 1 and 76 to even 93% in genotypes non-1. The therapeutic regimen is long-lasting and has many unpleasant side effects. The development of new more potent drugs and new therapeutic strategies are needed to decrease the global burden related to chronic hepatitis C.
Descriptors		HEPATITIS C INTERFERON-ALPHA RIBAVIRIN HEPATITIS, CHRONIC ACTIVE DISEASE PROGRESSION