There’s good news for the 4.5 million Americans who have Hepatitis C. The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced that a new hepatitis C drug successfully treats the majority of patients with this disease.
Hepatitis C is one type of hepatitis --a liver disease - caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). It usually spreads through contact with infected blood. It can also spread through sex with an infected person and from mother to baby during childbirth. Most people who are infected with hepatitis C don't have any symptoms for years.
A blood test can tell if you have it. Usually, hepatitis C does not get better by itself. The infection can last a lifetime and may lead to scarring of the liver or liver cancer. Serious cases may need a liver transplant. Hepatitis C is a major cause of liver transplants, and it kills about 12,000 U.S. patients a year, a number expected to triple by 2030 as baby boomers succumb to the disease.
The makers of the new drug, called Teleprevir, is Vertex. Another similar drug is also in the making by the pharmaceutical company Merck. Both new drugs work by blocking the enzyme protease, which allows the hepatitis virus to reproduce. The new approach represents a breakthrough from older medicines, which are designed to help boost the immune system to fight hepatitis.
