Acute Hepatitis C: A Multifaceted Disease

Theo Heller; Barbara Rehermann

doi:10.1055/s-2005-864778

Seminars in Liver Disease, Table of Contents

Semin Liver Dis 2005; 25(1): 7-17
DOI: 10.1055/s-2005-864778

Published in 2005 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc., 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001 USA.

Acute Hepatitis C: A Multifaceted Disease

Theo Heller¹ , Barbara Rehermann¹ ^, ²

¹Liver Diseases Branch, NIDDK, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
²Senior Investigator

Abstract

Although acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a rare disease and typically not associated with severe clinical symptoms, it has become a disease of significant interest for clinical investigators, virologists, and immunologists alike. In the same way that acute hepatitis C provided a window of opportunity for understanding the clinical and virological aspects of HCV infection as the field was being established, it is now clear that it can provide a window into further understanding the early interaction of the virus with the host immune response. The acute phase of infection is usually considered to be the first 6 months; however, rather than defining acute HCV by the time that has passed after initial infection, it can also be defined as the biological state in which spontaneous clearance is still possible.

KEYWORDS

Acute - liver - hepatitis C virus - treatment - interferon - T cell - immune response

Full Text

References

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Barbara RehermannM.D.

Liver Diseases Branch, NIDDK, National Institutes of Health

DHHS, Bldg. 10, Room 9B16, 10 Center Drive

Bethesda, MD 20892

Email: Rehermann@nih.gov