http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Among patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection and advanced hepatic fibrosis (development of excess fibrous connective tissue), sustained virological response (SVR) to interferon-based treatment was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality compared with patients without SVR, according to a study in the December 26 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-sustained-virological-response-linked-survival.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 25 Dec 2012 16:00:02 EST news275576845 [EMBARGOED FOR JULY 18, 2012] In a long-term study of people infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), researchers found increased deaths from both liver-related and non-liver related diseases in patients with active infections who had not cleared their infection. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-hepatitis-deaths-liver-related-diseases.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 18 Jul 2012 00:00:02 EST news261759084 Use of the botanical product silymarin, an extract of milk thistle that is commonly used by some patients with chronic liver disease, did not provide greater benefit than placebo for patients with treatment-resistant chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, according to a study in the July 18 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-chronic-hepatitis-thistle-beneficial.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 17 Jul 2012 16:00:08 EST news261750406 Researchers at the University of British Columbia have found a new way to block infection from the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the liver that could lead to new therapies for those affected by this and other infectious diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-potential-therapy-approach-hepatitis.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 16 Jan 2012 03:20:01 EST news245904303 A new study finds liver cancer incidence rates continue to increase in some low-risk parts of the world such as North America, and are decreasing in some of the highest risk countries of Asia. Despite this, the incidence rates in Asian countries remain twice as high as those in Africa and more than four times as high as rates in North America. The study will be published in an upcoming issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention and appears early online. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-liver-cancer-countries-decreasing-high.html Cancer Thu, 06 Oct 2011 16:53:56 EST news237138829 Despite the fact that hepatitis C virus (HCV) persists chronically in about 80 percent of those infected, some liver cells remain free of the virus even after many years. Now Sung Key Jang of Pohang University of Science and Technology, South Korea, et al. explain that paradox. During chronic HCV infection, a cellular protein, HMGB1, helps restrain viral reproduction. That prevents HCV from sweeping the liver, and results in a lower blood burden of virus than in the case of hepatitis B. This first description of HMGB1-related responses triggered by HCV infection is published in the September 2011 issue of the Journal of Virology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-danger-limits-hepatitis-infection.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 19 Sep 2011 09:42:04 EST news235644064