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Chronic hepatitis C is defined as infection with the hepatitis C virus persisting for more than six months based on the presence of its RNA. [18] Chronic infections are typically asymptomatic during the first few decades, [ 18 ] and thus are most commonly discovered following the investigation of elevated liver enzyme levels or during a routine ...
Hepatitis B is mainly sexually transmitted, but may also be passed from mother to baby during pregnancy or childbirth and spread through infected blood. [3] Hepatitis C is commonly spread through infected blood such as may occur during needle sharing by intravenous drug users. [3] Hepatitis D can only infect people already infected with ...
In acute viral hepatitis, the GGT levels can peak at 2nd and 3rd week of illness, and remained elevated at 6 weeks of illness. GGT is also elevated in 30% of the hepatitis C patients. GGT can increase by 10 times in alcoholism. GGT can increase by 2 to 3 times in 50% of the patients with non-alcoholic liver disease.
FibroTest has been evaluated in relation to liver biopsy (the current reference standard in liver disease assessment) in people with hepatitis C, hepatitis B, [1] alcoholic liver disease, [2] and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. [3] They are most useful for cirrhosis and less useful for other stages of liver disease. [4]
The test results correspond to stages F0-F4 and grades A0-A3 of the METAVIR scoring system. [20] In 2007 FibroTest was validated by French Health Authorities as a first-line diagnosis of liver injury before biopsy. It was recommended to be a better predictor than biopsy staging for hepatitis C complications and death. [21]
Hepatitis A and hepatitis B can be prevented by vaccination. Effective treatments for hepatitis C are available but costly. [6] In 2013, about 1.5 million people died from viral hepatitis, most commonly due to hepatitis B and C. [6] East Asia, in particular Mongolia, is the region most affected. [6]
The typical seroconversion timecourse for hepatitis B. Seroconversion plays a major role in the diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis B infections. [60] As in other viral infections, seropositivity indicates that an individual has a sufficiently high concentration of antibody or antigen in the blood to be detectable by standard techniques.
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) [3] is a small (55–65 nm in size), enveloped, positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus of the family Flaviviridae. The hepatitis C virus is the cause of hepatitis C and some cancers such as liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma, abbreviated HCC) and lymphomas in humans. [4] [5]