Description and challenges
Hepatitis C is a type of infection that is caused by a virus that attacks the human liver resulting in inflammation. The virus is called Hepatitis C virus (HCV). The infected people show less or no symptoms during its early stages of infection (Michael, 2014, p 1178). Hepatitis C virus is considered the most dangerous of the Hepatitis infections. The virus is transmitted through the contact with contaminated blood, mostly through needles that are shared through the use of illegal drugs.
One challenge with Hepatitis is that, during its early stages, one cannot know if he is infected or not. This is because, in the early stages, there are no any symptoms associated with the infection (Tan et al, 2011, p 143). Furthermore, at acute stages, the disease show same symptoms with those infected with cirrhosis. Both of them experience same liver problem so if not well diagnosed, it could be hard to determine if it is Hepatitis or cirrhosis.
A treatment suitable for treating Hepatitis
The appropriate treatment of Hepatitis C is through the use of antiviral drugs. These antiviral drugs help in controlling Hepatitis C virus from the liver in several ways. Some of the common antiviral drugs used in treatment includes; Drugs with general antiviral properties: these drugs includes interferon’s specifically ribavirin and peginterferon, Direct-acting antiviral agents that includes simeprevir, sofosbuvir and a combination pill (Harvoni).
These antiviral drugs work through weakening hepatitis C virus at different stages of its life cycle. They stop the viral reproduction in the infected cells (Tan et al, 2011, p 234). They inhibit viral protein maturation as well as its replication by inhibiting replication of functional nonstructural viral proteins.
Planned enrollment
With this kind of treatment, there are a number of people who are not eligible for this kind of treatment. Those patients with genotype 2 and genotype 3 are not entitled to this treatment, as they are intolerant to IFN-based therapy (Tan et al, 2011, p 321). Furthermore, a particular group of people including those with acute hepatitis C, the elderly patients, those with hemodialysis, the pregnant women, and children as excluded from HCV drug trials.
Description of necessary documents
Before subjecting a patient to this treatment trial, there is a number of documentation that is needed to enable successful treatment process (Michael, 2014, p 1188). These include the patient’s genotype. This is because, during the therapy, some of the patients might not display some necessary results because of their genotypes. These include those of genotype 2 and 3. Other documents needed are the age, the previous illness status, and any current medication that the patient is undertaking.
Surrogate markers and specimens used.
Some of the surrogate markers which could be used to measure and quantify the outcome of the trial includes the Fibrotest (FT) and Actitest (AT). Firotest is a diagnosis of fibrosis and Actitest is the assessment of Necro inflammatory activity. The two act as a good surrogate marker when performing the trial test of Hepatitis C infections.
The Specimen used is the liver biopsy. This plays a central role in the evaluation of Hepatitis C virus. It provides information on the fibrosis and the assessment of the histology. The liver enzymes can also help to predict fibrosis (Michael, 2014, p 1189). The amount of specimen needed to be analyzed is 1/30,000 of the liver volume that is obtained by the needle biopsy. This volume is then analyzed to establish the presence of Hepatitis C virus.
Discussion and future direction
Hepatitis C needs to be established at its early stages so that it can be easily controlled. This is mainly because, at acute stages, the antiviral drugs cannot be effective to control the replication of the Hepatitis C virus. It is advisable to undergo several therapy exercises to establish the presence of hepatitis C virus.
Clinical trials should be precise to produce enough data that can be used to justify the sharp turn away from the interferon-based treatments of chronic hepatitis C. It is necessary for a patient to talk to the doctor about the infection, any previous medication, and any other information that might be of help to the doctor before starting the treatment. With other people, postponing the treatment is necessary to attain the required regimen that is approved by a doctor.
Works Cited
Michael Pawlotsly, Jean. 'New Hepatitis C Therapies: The Toolbox, Strategies, And Challenges'.GASTROENTEROLOGY 146 (2014): 1176-1192. Print.
Tan, Seng-Lai, and Yupeng He. Hepatitis C: Antiviral Drug Discovery and Development. Norfolk, UK: Caister Academic Press, 2011. Print.
