Humanized Mice and Hepatitis C

This research paper is going to review today’s silent killer, the Hepatitis C virus. This paper will talk about the description of the disease, the signs and symptoms, the etiology and risk factors, diagnostic studies, treatments and prognosis of this disease. I had lived with this disease for over ten years before diagnosed so it is important to understand the signs and symptoms so the disease can be identified and a treatment plan can be identified as the sooner it is treated the more likely it will eradicate the disease.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is from the virus family Flaviviridae with an RNA envelope serving as it's genetic material. The genetic material (RNA) is HCV's pathogenic structure. The genome is positive sense single stranded RNA, which is very similar to mRNA and can be translated quickly to the host cell (Bauman 2012). Hepatitis C is an enveloped virus, and the RNA also lacks a proofreading ability after replication, which results in mutations coding for many genotypes within the host. This genetic variability makes it difficult for the host immune system to clear all the HCV infections. As one infection clears, another strain is being produced (Bauman 2012). The HCV antibody detected by ELISA(Wilkinson

A few years ago, Hepatitis C was a scary term for many of us. But, today the medical problem is curable as there are various and advanced ways available. The improvement in the treatment is especially notable because experts have worked harder to obtain this success. Still, there are some significant changes are left and hopefully they will be completed soon. Presently, the HCV treatments get rid of the virus in merely slightly more than half of all sufferers. The medicines also have unnecessary side effects that make it complicated or not possible for some patients to get them. HCV medication online available, but it is not worthy to take them without the concern of the doctor.

The increasing number of citizens that are testing positive for Hepatitis C is shocking and the epidemic is just getting worse. One out of every one hundred people in the general population has Hepatitis C, but the ratio is higher in prisons. One out of every six inmates has Hepatitis C (Wegner, Rottnek, Parker and Crippin, 2014). Hepatitis C (HCV) is a blood disease that is caused by a virus and it affects the liver. Unfortunately there is no vaccine to prevent this disease and I have seen first-hand how ugly this virus is. I have worked in the medical field for the past 6 years and I have a very close friend who contracted HCV. Unfortunately, she was one of the many people that needed a liver transplant. HCV has infected four times as

Until 2011, the main therapy against the infection was Pegylated-interferon (Peg-IFN) and the ribavirin (RBV) treatment (11). Interferon is a type of protein that stimulates the immune system and helps halt the virus from spreading throughout the body. Pegylated-interferon is a combination of three types of interferon, including polyethylene (PEG), which helps the treatment remain in the body for a longer time period. Ribavirin is a medication that helps stop the HCV virus from replicating. It is commonly used in combination with interferon, which is referred to as the “Peg/riba therapy.” This combination therapy is more effective than the interferon itself. However, these medications do not have a one hundred percent cure rate and it was reported

In time the virus can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure. Symptoms of HCV are jaundice (yellowing of the eyes), stomach pain, nausea and fatigue. The main problem is that many people don’t have symptoms until they already have some sort of liver damage. Treatment options for HCV include a combination of medications or depending on the degree of damage, a liver transplant. Given that HCV it is a blood disease that is spread through contact with an infected person’s blood, there are many ways to contract this disease. Injection drug users, physical altercations, sexual contact and mother to infant infection are just some of the ways this disease is spread.

There are a wide variety of symptoms that one, who is infected with hepatitis C, can experience while in the different stages of the virus. The first symptoms occur between six to twelve weeks of contact with the virus (Hoofnagle).The most common are flu like symptoms. They are fatigue, nausea, poor appetite, fever, chills, headaches, sore throat, and joint pain (Turkington 34). These symptoms last only for about a week so many people ignore them and go back to their normal lives. Once most people become infected with acute hepatitis C and are untreated, patient will develop chronic hepatitis. In fact 85 percent of infected people develop chronic hepatitis C

Initially, the treatment for hepatitis C is a combination of two drug categories which are interferon and ribavirin (IDSA, 2016). Interferon works by stimulating the immune system to attack the hepatitis C virus cells (IDSA, 2016). Pegylated interferon works more efficient than standard interferon. Pegylated interferon is a long-acting type of interferon that is administered as an injection with significant side effects; consequently, many patients with HCV cannot continue taking it (IDSA, 2016).

If someone is getting tested for Hepatitis C, they will first take an antibody test. This test will detect if antibodies are present in the blood, which will tell if the person has ever had Hepatitis C, not if they currently possess it (“Who Should”). If the antibody test comes back positive, a qualitative test will then be run. This test declares tells if someone is currently infected with Hepatitis C. A quantitative test can also be run, which shows the amount of Hepatitis C that is in the blood (“Who Should”). There are two main medications that are used to treat Hepatitis C. The first being Pegylated Interferon and another being Ribavirin. Both medications are used for the treatment of adult patients with chronic liver disease (FDA). These medications are used in place of the vaccine that has not been created for Hepatitis C. Therefore, Hepatitis C can be detected easily and is treatable.

A recombinant-based assay for the hepatitis C virus HCV has been developed, using RNA isolate from the hepatitis C virus.

Hepatitis C contamination additionally expands the danger of creating liver disease just like hepatitis B. Until the 1980 's, hepatitis C virus (HCV) was known as non-A non-B hepatitis. The underlying disease may have side effects, yet a critical number of individuals don 't have side effects. Not at all like hepatitis B, in which the ailment does not frequently get to be constant, have around 80% of individuals with hepatitis C built up an endless disease. As the invulnerable framework keeps on assaulting the infection after some time, fibrosis grows, in the end prompting cirrhosis. This unending aggravation can likewise prompt liver growth. This infection is spread through tainted blood, for example, with transfusions and IV drug misuse, however numerous individuals don 't have evident danger components for the sickness. It is currently suggested that

Hepatitis C, is an infection of the blood caused by the Hepatitis C virus. While the Hepatitis virus is widely known to damage caused to the liver, it can also cause damage to the kidneys and other body organs as well since it is an infection in the blood. Hepatitis C is both acute and chronic meaning it can last 6 months and resolve on it 's own or it can last a lifetime. The family name Hepatitis includes Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B in name while each is a completely separate disease. Each separate disease is caused by a completely different virus and transmitted in differently.

In general, a patient is infected with only one hepatitis C virus genotype. The strain of genotypes is not differentiated by the severity of the disease. However, there will make a distinction in the regimen and the duration of the treatment (CDC, 2016). Treatment for chronic HCV is based on guidelines from the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the American Associations for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). The criteria of who should receive the treatment include how much the virus in the body, the strain of hepatitis C, the degree of liver inflammation or damage, comorbidity, and response to previous treatment (Infectious Diseases Society of America [IDSA], 2016). The highest priority for treatment should give to a patient with advanced fibrosis and compensated cirrhosis (IDSA, 2016). Moreover, treatment priority should provide to the patient who has a high risk of transmitting the disease from and to others, such as individuals who are active injection drug users and hemodialysis patients (IDSA, 2016).

Although we are well aware of the mode of transmission, the hepatitis C virus itself remains a mystery. The genome of HCV is extremely mutable. Because HCV is an RNA virus and does not have adequate proofreading ability as it replicates, virions infecting humans undergo evolution with time, giving rise to the notion that HCV persists as a collection of virus quasispecies. Because it is constantly mutating, HCV is able to escape detection and elimination its human host. HCV undergoes quick mutation in a hypervariable region of the genome coding for the envelope proteins and escapes immune surveillance by the host. As a result, most HCV-infected people develop chronic infection. HCV also knocks out the host’s innate immunity.

Hepatitis C is an inflammation of the liver’s cells and tissues caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV).