New compounds show promise against hepatitis C infection

April 12, 2011 in Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Two bioflavonoids, catechin and naringenin, have displayed antiviral activity on tissue culture infected with Hepatitis C.

Approximately 270-300 million people worldwide are infected with , and about 1%-2% of the U.S. population is infected. This infectious disease can lead to scarring of the liver, cirrhosis, and eventually . A significant number of infected patients develop or cancer. The current standard treatment is interferon, which has only a 50% success rate. Compounding the 50% failure rate are severe side effects which lead many people to discontinue treatment.

Dr. Samuel Wheeler French Jr., MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UCLA and researcher at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, is a liver pathologist who is currently developing a proteomic-based program to study the development of from hepatitis C viral infection. His most recent study results, to be presented in an American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP) symposium on "Pathobiology of Liver Injury and Fibrosis" on Tuesday afternoon, April 12 at Experimental Biology 2011, evaluate the effects of several flavonoids on hepatitis C viral infection. Previously, Dr. French has shown that quercetin, a plant-derived bioflavonoid used by some as a nutritional supplement, attenuates production with no cell toxicity. In his most recent research, French and colleagues found that two other bioflavonoids, catechin and naringenin, displayed antiviral activity on tissue culture. The next step is to determine through a Phase I Clinical Trial that they are safe for patients with chronic hepatitis C infection.

"We now have several new compounds we can test to see if they reduce virus infection," said Dr. French. "The positive thing about this family of compounds is that they are nontoxic, and can be taken at high doses. Bioflavonoids represent a very promising therapy with very few side effects that could help millions of people."

Provided by Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (news : web)

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Std_Datings
Apr 13, 2011

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My friend got Hepatitis b several years ago. life's hard for him sometimes. to help more people living with STDs, we launched online STD support organization STDdatings.com in 2001, only serving poz people with Herpes(HSV 1,HSV 2),HIV,HPV,Hepatitis. If you're living with STDs, please come visit us and add us as friend. Never live in your own dark corner.
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