title: [Hepatitis C].
abstract: HCV carriers are supposed to me 100,000,000 worldwide. 5-15% of subjects are infected via haemotransfusion and another significant amount via intravenous drugs; nevertheless in the major part of subjects the via of transmission remains unclear. HCV causes long-term infectious in the host because of its high frequency of mutations. Mutations origin multiple mutants, called quasi-species, who have distinct immunological features and can so easily escape host immune response. Chronic HCV infection leads to cirrhosis in 5-10 years and to a possible hepatocarcinoma in 15-20 years. Nevertheless, it remains unclear why some patients undergo a slight clinical course, while others experience an aggressive one (exitus in less than 5 years). Alpha-interferon (alpha-IFN) is at date the only drug of proven efficacy in HCV chronic hepatitis, even if HCV eradication is a rare event. The goal to obtain is to standardize doses and duration of the treatment.
authors.affiliation: II Università degli Studi di Napoli, Dipartimento di Internistica Clinica e Sperimentale F. Magrassi.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gattoni
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cecere
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Caiazzo
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Romano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003449:Cryoglobulinemia / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D016679:Genome, Viral; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy / Q000821:virology; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D016898:Interferon-alpha
vernacular_title: Epatite da virus C.