Types of Chronic Hepatitis C

Types discussion:

Chronic Hepatitis C Current Disease Management: NIDDK (Excerpt)

Chronic hepatitis C varies greatly in its course and outcome. At one end of the spectrum are patients who have no signs or symptoms of liver disease and completely normal levels of serum liver enzymes. Liver biopsy usually shows some degree of chronic hepatitis, but the degree of injury is usually mild, and the overall prognosis may be good. At the other end of the spectrum are patients with severe hepatitis C who have symptoms, HCV RNA in serum, and elevated serum liver enzymes, and who ultimately develop cirrhosis and end-stage liver disease. In the middle of the spectrum are many patients who have few or no symptoms, mild to moderate elevations in liver enzymes, and an uncertain prognosis. (Source: excerpt from Chronic Hepatitis C Current Disease Management: NIDDK)

Chronic Hepatitis C Current Disease Management: NIDDK (Excerpt)

HCV is a small (40 to 60 nm in diameter), enveloped, single-stranded RNA virus of the family Flaviviridae. Because the virus mutates rapidly, changes in the envelope protein may help it evade the immune system. There are at least 6 major genotypes and more than 50 subtypes of HCV. The different genotypes have different geographic distributions. Genotypes 1a and 1b are the most common in the United States. Genotypes 2 and 3 are present in only 10 to 20 percent of patients. There is little difference in the severity of disease or outcome of patients infected with different genotypes. However, patients with genotypes 2 and 3 are more likely to respond to alpha interferon treatment. (Source: excerpt from Chronic Hepatitis C Current Disease Management: NIDDK)

Chronic Hepatitis C: Related Disease Topics

More general medical disease topics related to Chronic Hepatitis C include:

• Liver conditions
• Hepatitis
• Viral Hepatitis
• Hepatitis C
• Viral diseases
• Chronic liver disease
• Chronic infections
• Diseases contagious from intravenous needles
• Diseases contagious from blood
• Diseases contagious from blood transfusion
• Diseases contagious contagious mother-to-fetus

Research More About Chronic Hepatitis C

• Chronic Hepatitis C: Introduction
• Symptoms: Chronic Hepatitis C
• Complications: Chronic Hepatitis C
• Treatments: Chronic Hepatitis C
• Deaths: Chronic Hepatitis C

 » Next page: Causes of Chronic Hepatitis C

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• Causes of Chronic Hepatitis C
• Risk Factors for Chronic Hepatitis C
• Symptoms of Chronic Hepatitis C
• Diagnostic Tests for Chronic Hepatitis C
• Diagnosis of Chronic Hepatitis C

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