( and treatment was stopped in patients w...)African-Americans Have A Reduced Response To Hepatitis C Treatment,Health

and treatment was stopped in patients who had a positive test for serum HCV RNA. Responders continued treatment for another 24 weeks and were assessed for sustained virologic response at 24 weeks after treatment completion.

The study enrolled 401 patients (196 African Americans and 205 Caucasian Americans) who were treated at eight U.S. clinical centers between July 2002 and December 2003. Both groups were similar in terms of sex, age, estimated duration of infection, suspected source of infection and alcohol use. African American patients had a higher body weight and were more likely to have a history of diabetes and hypertension. African Americans were also more likely to have genotype 1b and less likely to have genotype 1a.

According to a second study published in the August issue of Gastroenterology, "non-Hispanic black race [is] the important predictor of genotype 1, and among persons infected with subtypes 1a and 1b, older age and non-Hispanic black race were the important predictors of genotype 1b...genotype1 and non-Hispanic black race, have been associated with a reduced response to antiviral therapies."^

Hepatitis C Surveys indicate that 1.3 percent of the U.S. population; approximately 3.2 million Americans have chronic HCV. Chronic HCV is the leading cause of chronic liver disease and the most common indication for liver transplants in the U.S. HCV-related cirrhosis (disruption of normal liver function caused by various chronic progressive conditions) accounts for almost 50 percent of newly diagnosed liver cancers and approximately 10,000 deaths per year.

Source: EurekAler.
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