Hepatitis C

What is Hepatitis C?

When cells in the body are injured by such things as chemicals or infection,the area that is hurt becomes inflamed. Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver,which in turn causes damage to individual liver cells. 

Hepatitis C is caused by a virus (medically abbreviated as HCV). This type of viral hepatitis is different from the others in an important way. All patients with hepatitis A and most with hepatitis B develop an acute infection, recover completely, and develop antibodies that protect them from ever getting the disease again. However, the hepatitis C virus is a "quick-change" artist. Once inside the body,it changes its form to evade discovery and attack by the immune system. Scientists have already identified many forms of HCV, and patients infected with one type are not necessarily safe from other types. Hepatitis C patients do develop antibodies, but they are not curative or protective as in hepatitis A or B. Hepatitis C antibodies may not completely rid the body of the virus. Therefore, most people infected with the HCV virus will develop chronic hepatitis. 

Current estimates are that 3.5 million Americans carry the virus that causes hepatitis C, and 150,000 people become infected with HCV each year. This virus is known to be spread through infected blood, blood products, and needles. Prior to the late 1980s, people were most at risk for contracting the disease through blood transfusions. However, a blood test was developed at that time to detect the virus, and the blood supply is now always tested to prevent spread of the disease in this way. Even so, there is a very slight risk for those who must receive blood products on a regular basis, such as hemophiliacs and patients on hemodialysis. Health care workers are also at risk. At this time, the people most at risk for getting hepatitis C are IV drug users who share needles. There are also a larger number of cases among east Asians. In about 40% of all cases of hepatitis C, it is unknown how the patient was infected with the virus. This situation is known as community acquired disease. 

What are the symptoms and diagnosis? 

Many people with hepatitis C don't have symptoms. This is especially true early in the disease. However, some people with hepatitis C feel like they have the flu. 

So, you might 

• feel tired 
• feel sick to your stomach 
• have a fever 
• not want to eat 
• have stomach pain 
• have diarrhea 

Some people have 

• dark yellow urine 
• light-colored stools 
• yellowish eyes and skin 

It can take from 2 to 26 weeks for the disease to develop once the patient is infected with HCV. Routine blood tests will show an elevation in certain liver enzymes, especially one called the ALT. The physician can then order a specific blood test to determine if the patient has hepatitis C. 

Hepatitis C is a cause for concern for two reasons. First, most cases become chronic. Second, patients seldom become acutely ill, so it is possible for them to have the disease for some time before it is diagnosed. Late in the disease, fatigue may become increasingly severe. If cirrhosis has developed, other more serious symptoms may occur. However, the elevation in the blood ALT may not correlate with the degree of liver inflammation. In other words, a high ALT may not necessarily mean there is a serious  degree of inflammation. Conversely, a low or normal blood ALT level may be present even though there is chronic liver damage. For this reason, a liver biopsy is almost always required to determine how serious the disease may be. Under local anesthesia, a slender needle is inserted into the right lower chest. A small piece of liver tissue is taken out with the needle and examined under a microscope. A biopsy can show if cirrhosis is present and how far it has progressed. It is believed that about 20% of the patients with chronic hepatitis C will develop cirrhosis, and a few of those will go on to develop liver cancer. It may take from 10 to 40 years for serious liver damage to occur. 

Certain people infected with HCV have a positive HCV blood test, but a normal liver enzyme test. These individuals are often called HCV carriers, and they can pass the virus on to others. Although they appear not to be seriously ill, there is recent evidence that even these people may have chronic hepatitis. Therefore, each should be evaluated by a liver specialist. 

What causes it? 

Hepatitis C is caused by a virus. A virus is a germ that causes sickness. (For example, the flu is caused by a virus.) People can pass viruses to each other.The virus that causes hepatitis C is called the hepatitis C virus. 

Hepatitis C is spread by contact with an infected person's blood. 

You could get Hepatitis C by 

• sharing drug needles 
• getting pricked with a needle that has infected blood on it (hospital workers can get hepatitis C this way) 
• having sex with an infected person, especially if you or your partner has other sexually transmitted diseases 
• being born to a mother with hepatitis C 

In rare cases, you could get Hepatitis C by 

• getting a tattoo or body piercing with unsterilized, dirty tools 

You can NOT get hepatitis C by 

• shaking hands with an infected person 
• hugging an infected person 
• kissing an infected person  
• sitting next to an infected person 

If you had a blood transfusion or organ transplant before 1992, you might have hepatitis C. Before 1992, doctors could not check blood for hepatitis C, and some people received infected blood. If you had a blood transfusion or organ transplant before 1992, ask a doctor to test you for hepatitis C. 

How do I know I have it? 

You may not have any symptoms at all. Or you may have flu-like symptoms, or other symptoms similar to those described above. However, the only way to know if you are infected is to see your doctor and get a blood test for HCV antibodies. 

What are the treatments for this disease? 

• Conventional Treatments 

As of 1999, there are two programs available to treat HCV. One is the use ofi nterferon (IFN) by itself. IFN is a synthetic form of a substance the body naturally produces to fight infections and strengthen the immune system. There are some bothersome side effects with the drug, such as fatigue and flu-like symptoms following each injection. Usually,interferon is injected three times a week for at least six months and often for a year. The second treatment is to combine IFN with an oral medication called ribavirin. This is particularly helpful in treating those patients who have not responded to IFN alone. A side effect of ribavirin is a mild anemia or low red cell count in the blood. 

Both the patient and physician have a role in treating hepatitis C. It is now known that alcohol use,even in socially accepted amounts, makes the liver disease worse. So while the virus is present in the body, it is best to avoid alcohol altogether. Patients should also discuss the use of over-the-counter medicines with the physician. Some drugs such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) that may not be normally toxic can worsen liver damage in HCV. Of course, a healthy diet is always important. The patient will also want to discuss vaccination against hepatitis viruses A and B. If a person with HCV becomes infected with either of these other viruses, the outcome could be quite severe. The patient should be careful to avoid the possibility of getting these other diseases. This means no IV drugs or unprotected sex with a new partner with unknown sexual activity history.

You may need surgery if you have hepatitis C for many years. Over time, hepatitis C can cause your liver to stop working. If that happens, you will need a new liver. The surgery is called a liver transplant. It involves taking out the old, damaged liver and putting in a new, healthy one from a donor. 

• Alternative/Complementary Treatments 

Fighting disease is a battle. Some turn to strictly alternative approaches in anguish when conventional treatments are exhausted. However, “alternative” treatments when used in addition to conventional medicine are often referred to as “complementary”. Complementary medicine is a more balanced approach in the effort to treat disease and is recommended because it allows one to take advantage of all options that are available. 

It should be noted that because alternative or natural remedies are not regulated, many medical professionals advise against them because of the lack of pier studies and uncertainty of the level of quality control. In addition, they advise that any substance that can affect the body's chemistry can, like any drug, produce side effects that may be harmful. In other words, herbal remedies should be viewed as symptom treating aids, just as pharmaceutical drugs are. 

However, there is hope. A relatively new science, called Glycobiology, now offers revolutionary and exciting options. Rather than taking the approach of treating a disease or even a symptom, Glycobiology addresses the nutritional requirement at the cellular level. It is believed that: 

  "Glycobiology is the last scientific frontier to be conquered. It is now understood that there is a 'sugar code' in biological structures that relates to both health and disease. Our ability to define the factors that regulate normal glycosylation of proteins and lipids, resulting in normal structures and functions, and those that cause disruption of normal sugar attachments will be important in understanding disease processes and their management. 

Many investigative approaches are being used to study these structure-function relationships and their biological consequences. These include novel analytical techniques to investigate chemical and 3-dimensional structures, proteomics to understand the relationship between glycosylation change and disease, model living systems in which to study the impact of glycosylation, and new enzyme and glycotherapeutic techniques to alter abnormal structures. 

Most major diseases that afflict mankind (e.g., cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, infectious diseases and neurodegenerative diseases) directly involve glycoconjugates. The ultimate goal is to develop the science of glycobiology so that it can have a significant impact on our ability to define and support health, and to diagnose and manage disease."
John S. Axford, BS, MD, FRCP 

In 1994, legislation was passed that enabled millions of Americans to enjoy access to safe, effective and affordable dietary supplements. The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (Enrolled as Agreed to or Passed by Both House and Senate) revealed the following: 

Congress finds that: 

• The importance of nutrition and the benefits of dietary supplements to health promotion and disease prevention have been documented increasingly in scientific studies; 
• There is a link between the ingestion of certain nutrients or dietary supplements and the prevention of chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis; and 
• Clinical research has shown that several chronic diseases can be prevented simply with a healthful diet, such as a diet that is low in fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium, with a high proportion of plant-based foods; 

I have seen first hand the power and benefits of Glycobiology as it relates to my wife LaDonna and her battle and victory against liver disease. Her turn around validates the findings that Congress and many scientists in the field of Glycobiology have determined; we must not underestimate the importance of nutrition. A category of specific nutrients led us to find a specific nutritional therapy, which proved very positive. These particularnutrients are called glyconutrients. More specific information on these and other nutritional building blocks associated with this science may be found here. 

What would happen if left untreated? 

Recent data suggests that among untreated patients, roughly 1/3 progress to liver cirrhosis in less than 20 years. Another 1/3 progress to cirrhosis within 30 years. The remainder of patients appear to progress so slowly that they are unlikely to develop cirrhosis within their lifetime. Factors that have been reported to influence the rate of HCV disease progression include age (increasing age associated with more rapid progression), gender (males have more rapid disease progression than females), alcohol consumption (associated with an increased rate of disease progression), HIV coinfection (associated with a markedly increased rate of disease progression), and fatty liver (the presence of fat in liver cells has been associated with an increased rate of disease progression). 

What would happen if I have this disease and become pregnant? 

There is no hard evidence that women with hepatitis C infection are at significantly increased risk for having complications during pregnancy. Women with hepatitis C infection usually have healthy babies. Transmission of hepatitis C from mother to baby can happen, but appears to be relatively rare. 

Women with advanced liver disease are at increased risk of suffering complications during pregnancy.

For disease to start and then worsen, it must outmaneuver the many mechanisms of one of the most highly advanced systems ever designed....

the human immune system.

The immune system remains as both your first and last defense against disease

On a more personal note...

In June of 2004, my wife LaDonna was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis after blood tests,liver scan, and a liver biopsy revealed 85% damage. Her doctor recommended that she should consider a liver transplant as soon as possible.

In March of 2005, we were introduced to some new information that changed our lives forever. This information led to a safe, and effective treatment plan for LaDonna. This treatment plan led to a complete reversal of her autoimmune hepatitis as indicated by a more recent biopsy.

Her liver is now 90% normal and she is no longer in need of a transplant.

The success of her treatment came as a result depending less and less on drugs and more and more on nutrition. The specific category of nutrition that brought about this success is glyconutrients. 

It is clear that autoimmune hepatitis and hepatitis C are completely distinct conditions, and there is no evidence of a link between infection with the HCV and autoimmune hepatitis. However, just as autoimmune hepatitis presents chronic fatigue (as my wife LaDonna can attest), many with HCV begin to feel a similar chronic fatigue that is commonly associated with this particular disease. Sometimes the symptoms with HCV can reach the point where one must consider the required months of weekly interferon injections along with the Ribavarin pills. Some undesirable side effects may include hair that falls out and terrible depression. With the cure rate not much better than 30%-40% for genotype 1A Hep C, it could be said, just as with chemo and cancer, that the attempts to cure can be worse than the disease.

While there are no guarantees, it is possible that LaDonna's treatment plan that led to a complete reversal of her autoimmune hepatitis could possibly offer similar hope for those suffering with HCV. The same glyconutrient therapy that brought about a reduction of chronic fatigue and a return of her energy level could conceivably bring about improved energy levels and improved liver enzymes levels in those afflicted with HCV.

In fact, in a Clinical Study of 8 HCV-Positive Patients who were given natural Glyconutrient supplements, published in the peer-reviewed Medical Journal "Proceedings of the Fisher Institute For Medical Research", 88% showed improvements in ALT and/or AST, the Liver Enzyme markers which characteristically test abnormal for HCV patients. In addition, 50% of the patients showed marked improvement in fatigue.

Since this study was run, a higher potency Glyconutrient formulation has been developed and is the one that LaDonna used.

We invite you to stay and browse through the other information found on our site. Or perhaps you'd like to speak with us right away, to learn more about glyconutrients and the specifics of LaDonna's nutritritional therapy. Maybe you would like to explore if this therapy might be useful for other disease concerns. If so, please provide an e-mail address in the form below and we would be happy to get back to you with contact information so that we could make arrangements to speak privately with you at your convenience. Important: Please be sure that there are no typos in your e-mail address so that we will be successful in contacting you.