Joint research by Dr. Leonid Brodsky, of the Institute of Evolution of the University of Haifa, and Dr. Milton Taylor, of Indiana University, led to the discovery of a mathematical method which can identify which genes in our bodies conduct the battle against the various viruses that attack us.

The use of peginterferon alone, or in combination with ribavirin, points to a cure for hepatitis C, the leading cause of cirrhosis, liver cancer and the need for liver transplant, a Virginia Commonwealth University researcher said today.

Chronic active hepatitis C (HCV) remains the strongest connection to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, liver cancer). Unfortunately, the mechanism behind hepatitis-associated cancer remains puzzling. Such effects as oxidative stress and DNA damage are known to occur in hepatitis, through which the role of the liver in nucleic acid metabolism may be impacted.

Even though HIV can be well treated these days, drug users are still more cautious about using needles than they used to be. That is the conclusion of Colette Smit following her study into 25 years of HIV in the Netherlands.

For liver transplant recipients without hepatitis C (HCV), survival has improved over time. However, for recipients with HCV, survival has not improved, according to a study in the May issue of Liver Transplantation, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS).

Measuring liver stiffness using transient elastography can predict severe portal hypertension in patients with hepatitis C-related cirrhosis, according to a new study in the May issue of Hepatology, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).

After a viral infection, a small percentage of the T cells generated to kill virus-infected cells remain on guard to establish long-term immunity. These so-called memory T cells, which derive from a family of immune cells known as CD8 T cells, engage in a self-renewal process that is essential to their persistence. This ongoing process ensures effective protection against any repeat infection by the same virus, even decades later.