The Natural Reservoir For Hepatitis Viruses

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Hepatitis: Overview

What Is Hepatitis? Hepatitis means an inflammation, or swelling, of the liver. Viruses can cause hepatitis. Alcohol, drugs (including prescription medications), or poisons can also cause hepatitis. So can opportunistic infections such as Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC, see Fact Sheet 514 ) or Cytomegalovirus (CMV, see Fact Sheet 504 ). Hepatitis is a very common disease. It can affect people even if their immune systems are healthy....

Ask the Experts

HCV reservoir?

If HCV is not detectable in the blood, is it also gone from the liver, or is it lurking in the liver and just not found in the blood? Would HIV co-infection allow HCV to have a reservoir in liver even though not in serum? Thanks Dr. Douglas...

Response from Douglas T. Dieterich, M.D.

New York University, School of Medicine

Apparently not! There have been several studies looking at liver biopsies as long as 10 years after treatment and cure of HCV. They all showed no HCV with very sensitive PCR probes of the liver. If there was a reservoir in the liver, there would be... Read more »

Immunotoxin and purging virus from reservoirs

Please help me to understand what this article means. It looks as though they are now able to clean out the latent resevours?http://www.aidsmeds.com/news/20040209scie001.htmlEW...

Response from Gerald Pierone, M.D.

AIDS Research and Treatment Center of the Treasure Coast

We know that potent antiretroviral therapy does not cure HIV and will not cure HIV because of latent viral DNA integrated into long-lived immune cells (memory T cells, for example). The cells persist for decades and were designed to protect the... Read more »

Chronic Hepatitis B Natural Therapies

New York, NYHello. I'm in interested in homeopathic/natural treatment for my chronic Hepatitis B. Although my M.D is advising me to take an anti-viral I am of the mindset to first try a natural treatment. Any suggestions?Thanks,Depny@aol.com...

Response from Maribel Rodriguez-Torres, M.D.

Fundacion Gatroenterologia De Diego

There is no natural product that can help you clear the virus from your body,and much less help your liver to improve the damage caused by this virus.Alternative therapy may make you feel better,but it will not change the course of the disease.You... Read more »

Radiations to destroy HIV in reservoirs?

If radiations would target directly the cells where HIV latently hides is there a possibilty the virus could be destroyed like cancers? A study suggested that with the help of nanotecnology antibodies could be carried with radioactivity in order to...

Response from Mark Holodniy, M.D., F.A.C.P., C.I.C.

Stanford University, School of Medicine

Yes radiation could kill HIV infected cells. The strategy you cite might be possible if it could be designed to not kill other bystander uninfected cells or result in any long term complications associated with radiation.... Read more »

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Connect With Others

Study Flushes Out Hidden Virus, Pointing to cure

Posted by optimistic2009, 2 Replies

"Professor Robert Siciliano: Researchers from Johns Hopkins University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute say they have developed a way to lure out these latent reservoirs in laboratory experiments, possibly paving the way to a cure if repeated in... Read more »

Viruses

Posted by Anonymous, 1 Reply

If Hepatitis is a Virus and can be cured why not HIV ? Read more »

Pueden interferir otros virus en la prueba del VIH

Posted by Anonymous, 1 Reply

Hola!! Una consulta a quien lo sepa, ya que estuve leyendo las respuestas de los doctores en TheBody en espaol ... puede otro virus interferir con la prueba del VIH dando un falso positivo? Me refiero al herpes, hepatitis, etc ...
Gracias! Read more »

hepatitis b

Posted by Anonymous, 1 Reply

si tengo un familiar que en la pruba de hep el resultado del antigeno de superficie dio 14 puedo contagiarme, copmo no se contagia Read more »

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