How to Get Treatment for Hepatitis C

Three Parts:Getting Medical Treatment for HCVTrying Alternative Therapies for HCVPreventing Hepatitis CQuestions and Answers

Hepatitis C is a viral infection that attacks the liver and triggers chronic inflammation.^[1] Most people who have hepatitis C don't notice any symptoms until it damages their liver — typically after many years. Due to its destructive nature over time, hepatitis C is often considered more serious than hepatitis A or B infections. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is usually passed between people via contaminated blood, commonly from sharing needles during illegal drug use. Antiviral drugs are the main treatment for HCV, although prevention and lifestyle changes are also important.

1

Consult with your doctor. Symptoms of hepatitis C infection don't often show up for about 3 months or later, and typically include: fatigue, mild fever, nausea, muscle and joints aches, reduced appetite, abdominal pain, dark-colored urine and yellowish discoloration of the skin and eyes.^[2] If you notice any of these symptoms, especially if you're an illicit drug user or have received blood products in the past, then make an appointment with your doctor for an examination and testing.

• More advanced symptoms of HCV infection include: fluid accumulation in your abdomen (called ascites), swelling on your legs (called edema), itchy skin, spider veins on skin, bruising, reduced clotting ability of blood, unexplained weight loss, drowsiness, confusion and slurred speech.
• Your doctor will order urine and blood tests that look for HCV and high levels of liver enzymes, which indicate liver damage.
• In more advanced cases, your doctor may recommend a liver biopsy — taking a small sample of liver tissue (via a long, thin needle) and looking at it under a microscope for evidence of injury.
• 
  
• 2 Be honest about your drug use. When consulting with your doctor, it's important to be honest about a past or current history of injecting illicit drugs, such as heroin, because it's the biggest risk factor for catching hepatitis C and many other types of infections.^[3] Doctor-patient confidentiality will typically prevent you from getting in trouble with the law, unless you're putting your child or other people in direct harm from using or selling.
• • Depending on your family situation and history of drug use, social services may be informed and have to get involved.
  • If you're pregnant and using illicit drugs, your doctor may feel compelled ethically or forced by law (depending on the state) to force addiction treatment on you so your baby is not harmed any further.^[4]
  • Getting treatment for your drug addiction is just as important, if not more so, than dealing with hepatitis C infection. Seek addiction treatment immediately.
  
• 1. 3
     Talk to your doctor about antiviral drugs. Once it's established that you have hepatitis C, the primary (and only) medical treatment is with antiviral medications that are meant to clear the HCV from your body.^[5] Commonly used older antivirals for hepatitis include: pegylated interferon (Roferon-A, Intron-A, Rebetron, Alferon-N, Peg-Intron), ribavirin (Rebetol), lamivudine (Epivir-HBV), adefovir dipivoxil (Hepsera) and entecavir (Baraclude).^[6]
     

     • Newer types of antivirals tailored specifically for HCV are classified as either protease inhibitors or polymerase inhibitors and include: boceprevir (VictrelisI), telaprevir (Incivek), simeprevir (Olysio), sofosbuvir (Sovaldi) and daclatasvir (Daklinza).^[7]
     • The goal of antiviral treatment is to have no HCV detected in your body at least 3 months after you finish the medication(s).
     • Although drugs to treat hepatitis C have gradually improved over the decades, they still have serious side effects, such as flu-like symptoms, debilitating fatigue, hair loss, depression and destruction of healthy red and/or white blood cells.^[8]
  2. 4
     Take the antivirals as directed. Older antiviral medications were typically taken daily and for up to 72 weeks to be able to rid the body of HCV, but side effects were a common concern due to toxicity. Newer antiviral drugs tend to be more effective at killing HCV, so they can be taken for shorter periods of time (daily for between 12-24 weeks) and consequently lead to less serious side effects.^[9] As such, follow your doctor's instructions very closely to avoid unwanted side effects.
     

     • Sometimes combining newer anti-viral medications with existing ones (ribavirin with interferon, for example) can be more effective than solo drug therapy.
     • Interferon therapy is given by injection by your doctor, but most other antivirals are taken orally as pills at home. It's best to always take antivirals pills with food or after meals.
     • Regimens and dosages of antivirals vary depending on the hepatitis C genotype, extent of liver damage and other medical conditions.
  3. 5
     Consider a liver transplant as a last resort. If your liver is severely damaged and it's not functioning properly, then a liver transplant becomes a possible option.^[10] During a transplant, the surgeon removes as much of your damaged liver as possible and replaces it with a healthier liver from a deceased donor or a portion of healthy liver tissue from a living donor. Liver tissue actually grows relatively quickly and can regenerate itself better than other organs.
     

     • Realize that a liver transplant is often not a cure for hepatitis C, as treatment with antiviral drugs typically must continue.
     • In approximately 50% of the patients with chronic hepatitis who get a liver transplant, the HCV infection recurs and causes liver injury again.^[11]
     • The 5-year survival rate after a liver transplant is between 60-80%, depending on the surgical expertise, health of the new liver tissue and lifestyle of the patient.

  Part2

  Trying Alternative Therapies for HCV

  1. 1
     Talk to a herbalist or naturopath. Taking herbal remedies and/or supplements for infections and other diseases is often confusing and difficult to understand their potential effectiveness. Your doctor is not likely to know much about herbs / supplements and medical websites don't often mention them, so you need to seek out a knowledgeable health professional. Licensed herbalists, naturopaths or even chiropractors might be a great way to start.
     

     • Spend quality time online researching various herbs / supplements that can positively impact hepatitis C. Unfortunately, specific dosage information is rare to come by because so many variables are involved.
     • Always tell your medical doctor if you're taking or thinking of taking herbs / supplements because some may interact dangerously with medications.^[12] In most cases, herbs and medications can be taken concurrently.
     • As a general guideline, you can use herbs as dried extracts (capsules, powders, teas) or tinctures (alcohol extracts).^[13]
       • Unless otherwise indicated, make herbal teas with 1 tsp. of dried plant material per cup of very warm water.
       • Steep covered for up to 20 minutes, especially if you're using the roots of a plant.
       • Drink between 2-4 cups of the herbal tea per day.
  2. 2
     Take milk thistle supplements. Milk thistle extract has been used to treat liver problems for many centuries. The most helpful compound in milk thistle is called silymarin, which has been shown to protect the liver from various viruses, toxins, alcohol and many drugs. The studies are mixed, but milk thistle (silymarin) seems to have the potential to reduce the symptoms of chronic hepatitis and improve quality of life, although it may not always improve liver function tests or reduce HCV levels in the blood.^[14]
     

     • Look for standard silymarin extracts that contain 70% silybin for best results, as they seem to be the most effective.
     • Silybin is a strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory that can stimulate the immune system, which is why it's helpful for all causes of hepatitis and cirrhosis.
     • People with ragweed allergies should be cautious with milk thistle products. Milk thistle can also have estrogen-like effects, so people with hormone-sensitive conditions (breast cancer, for example) should be careful too.
     • The effective dose to help with hepatitis C is not known, so some experimentation is needed.
  3. 3
     Consider taking SNMC (Stronger Neominophagen C). SNMC is a liquid supplement that contains glycine, glycyrrhizin and cysteine in a 20:2:1 ratio all mixed in a saline solution.^[15] SNMC is helpful for reducing hepatitis symptoms, improving liver function (based on enzymes in the blood) and healing liver tissue, but it doesn't directly kill HCV.^[16]
     

     • SNMC solution is often administered via daily intravenous (IV) injections, although some recent studies suggest that oral forms (drinking it) may be just as effective for chronic hepatitis.
     • Typical formulations of SNMC are 2,000mg of glycine, 200mg of glycyrrhizin and 100mg of cysteine all mixed in a 100cc IV bag of saline solution.
     • Glycyrrhizin is the main active compound in licorice root, which has also been used to treat liver disease for centuries.
  4. 4
     Try Cordyceps mushrooms. Cordyceps are types of mushrooms commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat liver diseases. Some studies show Cordyceps mushroom can stimulate immune function and improve liver function in patients with hepatitis B, so it may be worth a try also for hepatitis C.^[17] Cordyceps mushroom supplements typically come in capsules, but also liquid extracts. An ideal dosage for hepatitis C is not known, so some experimentation is needed.
     

     • Cordyceps may slow down blood's ability to clot, so be cautious if you're on blood-thinning medications. Always tell your doctor about all supplements you're taking so there's less risk of a negative reactions with drugs.
     • Another type of mushroom that helps with chronic hepatitis B infection and may also be helpful for hepatitis C is Reishi mushroom.^[18]
  5. 5
     Experiment with high doses of vitamin C. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) isn't a direct treatment for hepatitis C infection, but high doses can help stimulate the immune response to eliminate viruses from the bloodstream.^[19] Vitamin C is also a strong antioxidant that has some antiviral abilities, so it might be worth experimenting with for HCV due to its relative safety and lack of expense.
     

     • High dosages of vitamin C range from 3,000mg to 10,000mg daily, spread out over the day. The vitamin can be taken as capsules, muscle injections or IV bags.
     • The effective dose to help with hepatitis C is not known, so some experimentation is needed.
     • It's best to build up to higher daily doses and not take more than 1,000mg at a time because it can trigger loose bowels and short-term diarrhea.
     • High doses of vitamin C has not actually been proven to increase the risk of kidney stones, despite its reputation for doing so.
  6. 6
     Learn about SBEL1. A newly discovered and tested Chinese herbal compound called SBEL1 seems to have the ability to inhibit and kill HCV by about 90%, at least in lab studies on human liver cells.^[20] Research on patients with HCV is next, so learn more about SBEL1 and remember it for potential future use against hepatitis.
     

     • SBEL1 is extracted from a medicinal herb found in Taiwan and Southern China normally used by local populations to treat sore throats and inflammation.
     • Scientists are excited that SBEL1 can make a big impact on hepatitis C worldwide, as it's estimated to affect 150-200 million people and cause more than 350,000 deaths each year.^[21]

  
  

  1. 1
     Don't share needles. Hepatitis C (and B) are transmitted through contact with infected blood, so illicit drug users who share needles to inject are at greatest risk.^[22] As such, either stop the drug use altogether (ideally) or always use clean, unused needles for injecting.
     

     • In addition to needles, don't share any drug paraphernalia, such as syringes, containers or any preparation equipment — they can all be contaminated with infected blood.
     • Heroin users are particularly at risk due to the greater likelihood of using needles and syringes to deliver the drug directly into the bloodstream.
  2. 2
     Practice safe sex. Having unprotected sex with someone who is infected can also pass on hepatitis causing viruses, although it's much more common with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) than HCV for reasons that are not entirely understood.^[23] Regardless, always use condoms for sexual activities, even with people you think you know well.
     

     • Unprotected anal sex has the highest risk of transmitting STDs and other blood-born viruses such as HCV.
     • Up to 40% of HCV infections are of unknown cause, although a good percentage of those cases are due to secretive drug behavior from spouses and significant others.
  3. 3
     Be cautious with tattoos and piercing. Although they are not common methods of spreading viral infections, there still is risk with piercing and tattooing because they use needles to puncture the skin. As such, be cautious about body piercing and tattooing and always choose a reputable shop that's been there for a while.^[24] Ask the service provider how they go about cleaning their equipment and preventing the transfer of contaminated blood.
     

     • If the shop or beauty parlor seem evasive or hostile to your polite questioning, go somewhere else.
     • Make sure the service providers always use sterile or new needles. Consider buying your own sterile tools and giving them to the employee to use on you..
  4. 4
     Cut back on alcohol. Reducing your alcohol consumption (or stopping completely) is not a method for directly preventing hepatitis C infection, but alcohol (ethanol) is toxic to the liver and speeds up the progression of every liver disease.^[25] As such, limit your consumption to no more than 1-2 drinks daily if you're healthy, but stop immediately if you have any infection that impacts your liver.
     

     • Binge drinking (more than 3 or 4 drinks in an evening) is especially damaging to your liver, particularly if you have any type of hepatitis.
     • Grain-based alcohol (vodka, whiskey) is much worse for your liver than red wine, which contains some health benefits due to the antioxidant content. Beer is between the two in terms being damaging.

FOODS THAT PREVENT CHRONICAL INFLAMMATION

A new study by the University of Liverpool's Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease has identified food stuffs that can help prevent chronic inflammation that contributes to many leading causes of death.

Inflammation occurs naturally in the body but when it goes wrong or goes on too long, it can trigger disease processes. Uncontrolled inflammation plays a role in many major diseases, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.

Diets rich in fruits and vegetables, which contain polyphenols, protect against age-related inflammation and chronic diseases.

Cell-to-cell communication

Polyphenols are abundant micronutrients in our diet, and evidence for their role in the prevention of degenerative diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases is already emerging. The health effects of polyphenols depend on the amount consumed and on their bioavailability.

T-cells, or T-lymphocytes, are a type of white blood cell that circulate around our bodies, scanning for cellular abnormalities and infections. They contribute to cell signalling molecules (cytokines) that aid cell-to-cell communication in immune responses and stimulate the movement of cells towards sites of inflammation, infection and trauma. Cytokines are modulated by fruit and vegetable intake.

Little is known about the relative potency of different (poly)phenols in modulating cytokine release by lymphocytes.

Pro-inflammatory mediators

The study, conducted by Sian Richardson and Dr Chris Ford from the University's Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease, examined the different potencies of the polyphenols.

Sian Richardson, said: "The results of our study suggest that (poly)phenols derived from onions, turmeric, red grapes, green tea and açai berries may help reduce the release of pro-inflammatory mediators in people at risk of chronic inflammation.

"Older people are more susceptible to chronic inflammation and as such they may benefit from supplementing their diets with isorhamnetin, resveratrol, curcumin and vanillic acid or with food sources that yield these bioactive molecules."

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Story Source:

The above post is reprinted from materials provided by University of Liverpool. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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CANDIDA INFECTION AS A CAUSE OF MENTAL ILLNESS

In a study prompted in part by suggestions from people with mental illness, Johns Hopkins researchers found that a history of Candida yeast infections was more common in a group of men with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder than in those without these disorders, and that women with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder who tested positive forCandida performed worse on a standard memory test than women with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder who had no evidence of past infection.

The researchers caution that their findings, described online on May 4 in npj Schizophrenia -- a new publication from Nature Publishing Group -- do not establish a cause-and-effect relationship between mental illness and yeast infections but may support a more detailed examination into the role of lifestyle, immune system weaknesses and gut-brain connections as contributing factors to the risk of psychiatric disorders and memory impairment.

"It's far too early to single out Candida infection as a cause of mental illness or vice versa," says Emily Severance, Ph.D., assistant professor of pediatrics and member of the Stanley Division of Developmental Neurovirology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "However, most Candidainfections can be treated in their early stages, and clinicians should make it a point to look out for these infections in their patients with mental illness." She adds that Candida infections can also be prevented by decreased sugar intake and other dietary modifications, avoidance of unnecessary antibiotics, and improvement of hygiene.

Candida albicans is a yeastlike fungus naturally found in small amounts in human digestive tracts, but its overgrowth in warm, moist environments causes burning, itching symptoms, thrush (rashes in the throat or mouth) in infants and those with weakened immune systems, and sexually transmittable genital yeast infections in men and women. In its more serious forms, it can enter the bloodstream. In most people, the body's own healthy bacteria and functioning immune system prevent its overgrowth.

Severance says she and her team focused on a possible association betweenCandida susceptibility and mental illness in the wake of new evidence suggesting that schizophrenia may be related to problems with the immune system, and because some people with weakened immune systems are more susceptible to fungal infections.

Also, she says, patients and parents of patients had shared personal stories and testimonials with the researchers about their experience with yeast infections, and these discussions prompted the investigation into possible links between mental illness and the microbiome -- the body's natural collection of bacteria. The researchers, she adds, chose to focus on Candidabecause it is one of the most common types of yeast in the body.

For the study, colleagues from the Sheppard Pratt Health System took blood samples from a group of 808 people between the ages of 18 and 65. This group was composed of 277 controls without a history of mental disorder, 261 individuals with schizophrenia and 270 people with bipolar disorder. The researchers used the blood samples to quantify the amount of IgG class antibodies to Candida, which indicates a past infection with the yeast. After accounting for factors like age, race, medications and socioeconomic status, which could skew the results, they looked for patterns that suggested links between mental illness and infection rates.

Significantly, the team says, it found no connection between the presence ofCandida antibodies and mental illness overall in the total group. But when the investigators looked only at men, they found 26 percent of those with schizophrenia had Candida antibodies, compared to 14 percent of the control males. There wasn't any difference found in infection rate between women with schizophrenia (31.3 percent) and controls (29.4 percent). The higher infection rate percentages in women over men likely reflects an increased susceptibility for this type of infection in all women.

Men with bipolar disorder had clear increases in Candida as well, with a 26.4 percent infection rate, compared to only 14 percent in male controls. But, after accounting for additional variables related to lifestyle, the researchers found that the association between men with bipolar disorder and Candidainfection could likely be attributed to homelessness. However, the link between men with schizophrenia and Candida infection persisted and could not be explained by homelessness or other environmental factors. Many people who are homeless are subjected to unpredictable changes in stress, sanitation and diet, which can lead to infections like those caused byCandida.

Severance says the data add support to the idea that environmental exposures related to lifestyle and immune system factors may be linked to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and that those factors may be different for each illness. Similarly, specific mental illnesses and related symptoms may be very different in men versus women.

This Johns Hopkins research group, led by Robert Yolken, M.D., director of the Stanley Division of Developmental Neurovirology, had previously shown that toxoplasmosis infection could trigger schizophrenia, and this could lead to neurocognitive problems. The organism that causes toxoplasmosis is a parasite that uses cats as its primary host, but it can also infect humans and other mammals.

To determine whether infection with Candida affected any neurological responses, all participants in the new study took a 30-minute assessment of cognitive tasks to measure immediate memory, delayed memory, attention skills, use of language and visual-spatial skills.

Each of the five skills tests are scored based on an adjusted 100-point system. Results showed that control men and women with and without priorCandida infection had no measureable differences in scores in the five neurological responses. However, the researchers noticed that women with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder who had a history of Candida infection had lower scores on the memory portions of this test compared to those women with no prior infection. For example, women with schizophrenia and the highest Candida antibody levels scored about an average of 11 points lower on the test for immediate memory than the controls, from a score of 68.5 without infection to 57.4 with infection. And the women with schizophrenia and the highest Candida antibody levels scored almost 15 points lower on the test for delayed memory, from a score of 71.4 without infection to 56.2 with infection. The effect of Candida infection in women with bipolar disorder on memory test scores was smaller than that seen in women with schizophrenia but was still measureable.

"Although we cannot demonstrate a direct link between Candida infection and physiological brain processes, our data show that some factor associated withCandida infection, and possibly the organism itself, plays a role in affecting the memory of women with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and this is an avenue that needs to be further explored," says Severance. "BecauseCandida is a natural component of the human body microbiome, yeast overgrowth or infection in the digestive tract, for example, may disrupt the gut-brain axis. This disruption in conjunction with an abnormally functioning immune system could collectively disturb those brain processes that are important for memory."

Severance says they plan to take their studies of the gut-brain connection into mouse models to test for a cause-and effect-relationship with Candidaand memory deficits.

The researchers emphasized that the current study design had limitations. For example, they were unable to tell where in the body the infection was located and whether or not participants had a current or past infection ofCandida. The researchers were also not able to account for every possible lifestyle variable that might contribute to these results.

The researchers in the Stanley Division of Developmental Neurovirology are investigating whether pathogens, such as bacteria or viruses, may contribute or trigger certain mental disorders.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 1 percent of people in the U.S. have schizophrenia and about 2 percent have bipolar disorder. Although these diseases have a genetic component, there is evidence that they may also be triggered by environmental factors and stress.

Additional authors on the study include Kristin Gressitt of Johns Hopkins Medicine; Catherine Stallings, Emily Katsafanas, Lucy Schweinfurth, Christina Savage, Maria Adamos, Kevin Sweeney, Andrea Origoni, Sunil Khushalani and Faith Dickerson of Sheppard Pratt Health System; and F. Markus Leweke of Heidelberg University.

The study was supported by a research grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (MH-94268) and a grant from the Stanley Medical Research Institute.

The authors also thank the individuals with psychiatric disorders and their families who originally suggested this line of research.