The virus that causes hepatitis C protects itself by blocking signals that drive elements of liver cells’ immune defenses, University of Washington researchers report in a new study. “The finding helps explain why many patients fail certain drug treatments, and should help develop more effective alternate treatment protocols,” said Ram Savan, a UW assistant professor of immunology and the study's corresponding author. Hepatitis C virus is the most common cause of chronic hepatitis and the leading U.S. cause of liver cancer. It is primarily spread through contact with infected blood. Each year, more than 30,000 Americans become infected and as many as 85 percent develop life-long chronic infections. Of these patients, about one in 10 will eventually develop cirrhosis and liver cancer.
|