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My friend has hep c. Why do some people clear the virus with treatment and live normal lives but others need liver transplants? is it because they do not respond to treatment? was found out 30+ years after infection and damage was done? or another reason? please help.

2006-12-27 02:06:02 · 5 answers · asked by Abigail 3 in Health Diseases & Conditions Infectious Diseases

5 answers

Hepatitis C is one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease in the U.S. today. At least 80% of patients with acute hepatitis C ultimately develop chronic liver infection, and 20% to 30% develop cirrhosis. Between 1% and 5% of patients may develop liver cancer. Hepatitis C is now the number 1 cause for liver transplantation in the U.S.
People with hepatitis C should also be careful not to take vitamins, nutritional supplements, or new over-the-counter medications without first discussing it with a doctor. People with hepatitis C should avoid any substances toxic to the liver (hepatotoxic), including alcohol. Even moderate amounts of alcohol speed up the progression of hepatitis C, and alcohol reduces the effectiveness of treatment.
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 coinfection (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).
The diagnosis of hepatitis C is rarely made during the acute phase of the disease because the majority of people infected experience no symptoms during this phase of the disease. Those who do experience acute phase symptoms are rarely ill enough to seek medical attention. The diagnosis of chronic phase hepatitis C is also challenging due to the absence or lack of specificity of symptoms until advanced liver disease develops, which may not occur until decades into the disease.
Please see the web pages for more details on Hepatitis C.

2006-12-27 02:43:04 · answer #1 · answered by gangadharan nair 7 · 1 0

A liver transplant is in some situations an decision for a individual with Hep C. approximately 40-40 5% of liver transplant surgical procedures in the U. S. are with the aid of Hep C. Hep C maintains to reason liver harm in in simple terms about all sufferers that receive a liver transplant with the aid of Hep C, so recurrent an infection isn't a clarification for exclusion. Whoever advised you she will't get a liver transplant is the two basing this on something in her scientific background to boot Hep C or possibly they meant she will't get on a catalogue actual now with the aid of fact she does not yet choose for a transplant, or possibly they have been in simple terms blowing smoke.

2016-10-06 01:54:06 · answer #2 · answered by geddings 4 · 0 0

It depends on many factors, including how long that person has had Liver disease. The Hep C causes the liver to stop functioning properly. If the person drinks Alcohol this would make the process move more rapidly. I am sure that some people who do not respond to treatment are either to far along into the disease, or have other complications that have arose. If Hep C is caught right away, than drugs can definately prolong a persons life.

hth

2006-12-27 04:12:53 · answer #3 · answered by micmac_9 4 · 0 0

Some genotypes of the virus respond better to treatment than others. Only about half of the people who start treatment have a sustained reduction in viral load to below detectable levels.

2006-12-27 12:42:52 · answer #4 · answered by MyThought 6 · 0 0

beacause some times when peopel have cancer, heart attack,high blood presure and i think thats all

2006-12-27 02:15:49 · answer #5 · answered by ty 2 · 0 1

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