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The Addiction Research
Topics
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Topic: Somatic comorbidity
Hepatitis CHepatitis C is an infectious disease and the most prevalent liver disease in the world. The liver inflammation caused by the hepatitis C-virus is often detected very late. Usually the body is not able to eliminate the virus by itself. Hepatitis C is spread through contact with infected blood, for instance through intravenous drug abuse (sharing drug needles, spoons…) etc. Diagnosis is performed on blood drawn from the patient and tested for virological parameters (Hepatitis C antibodies, Hepatitis C PCR and – if positive “genotyping”).
One of the long-term effects of being hepatitis C positive is the development of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer after 20 to 30 years of infection. Hepatitis C is a leading indication for liver transplants. If chronic hepatitis C is diagnosed, patients can be treated with interferon alpha, a substance that is also produced by the human body and helps cells to protect themselves against the virus. This is applied once per week by subcutaneous injection. In addition, ribavirin tablets are taken daily. The dosage and duration of therapy depends on various factors. |
Hepatitis |