HCV and Related Liver Diseases

More than 2 million people in Japan have chronic hepatitis C and many of them will lose their lives to liver cirrhosis or complications of hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatitis C virus-related diseases are a serious concern both in developing countries and in Japan and the United States, where the number of patients is also in the millions. Therapeutic modalities recently developed in Japan, including interferon therapy and nutritional supportive therapy, are gaining worldwide acceptance. At this critical juncture, HCV and Related Liver Diseases presents new information on etiology, pathology, diagnosis, and therapy. Viral hepatitis was the theme of the Yamaguchi Symposium on Liver Disease, meeting in December 1998 and attended by leading hepatologists and virologists. Collected in this volume are the papers from the symposium, providing a valuable resource for hepatologists, gastroenterologists, and others working to understand and treat viral hepatitis.

Introducing the therapeutic modalities recently developed in Japan

Inhalt
Hepatitis C: Current Status and Future Directions for Antiviral Therapy.- Different Quasispecies of Hepatitis C Virus in Human Serum, Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells, and Liver.- High Prevalence of HCV Infection in Patients with Oral Cancer and Oral Precancerous Lesion.- Hepatitis C Virus Nonstructural Region 5A Protein: A Potent Transcriptional Activator.- Natural Variation in Translational Activities of the 5? Nontranslated RNAs of Genotypes la and lb Hepatitis C Virus: Evidence for a Long, Range RNA-RNA Interaction Outside of the Internal Ribosomal Entry Segment.- Mutation Pattern of Hepatitis C Virus and Its Application to Therapy.- Randomized Controlled Trial of Lymphoblastoid Interferon-? for Chronic Hepatitis C; Early Disappearance of HCV RNA is Essential for Sustained Response.- Use of Interferon-? for Prevention of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients with Chronic Active Hepatitis C with Cirrhosis.- Risk Factors for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Among Chronic Hepatitis C Patients Treated with Interferon.