No abstract

Over the last years it has started a real revolution in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. This occurred for the availability of direct-acting antiviral agents that allow to reach sustained virologic response in approximately 90% of cases. In the near future further progress will be achieved with the use of pan-genotypic drugs with high efficacy but without side effects. Core tip: This review analyzes the current therapies for chronic hepatitis C and the future challenges of the research. So it tries to give an update on the research of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, providing a critical view of the emerging therapies and their impact on the future management of HCV infection. Since novel TOPIC HIGHLIGHT Chronic hepatitis C: This and the new era of treatment2016 Hepatitis C Virus: Global view treatments for HCV infection are highly efficacious but costly, priority should be given to patients with advanced hepatic fibrosis, which is a disease that cannot be deferred. INTRODUCTIONThe hepatitis C virus (HCV), identified in the 70s but cloned in 1989, is a single-stranded RNA virus belonging to the family Flaviviridae.HCV is the main cause of progressive liver diseases and a public health problem worldwide. It is estimated that approximately 150-180 million people in the world are living with chronic hepatitis [1,2] , 350 million of whom die each year from liver damage associated with the infection [3] . About 80% of people infected with HCV develop chronic hepatitis, of which 20%-40% will develop liver cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) 20-30 years after infection.As a consequence, chronic HCV infection is the major reason of liver transplantation in developed countries [4][5][6][7] . According to the Global Burden Disease Study in Europe, the death rate for viral hepatitis is significantly higher than that for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome; in particular in 2010, the number of deaths from viral hepatitis have been ten times bigger than that attributed to HIV. It is reasonable to think that this difference is due to the lack of effective therapies for HCV until a few years ago [8] .HCV is also one of the main causes of death [9] . The virus causes both liver damage and extra-hepatic manifestations, many of these syndromes are associated with the ability of HCV to replicate in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs); an example is the mixed cryoglobulinemia, which is by far the most common extrahepatic disease closely connected with the infection.Recently it was shown that antiviral treatment is associated with improved renal and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with cryoglobulinemia [4,6,10,11] . Newly approved oral anti-HCV drugs are very safe and effective, but unfortunately their cost will force to choose a priority of treatment. The intent should therefore be to identify and treat patients with a higher risk of morbidity and mortality due to HCV.The availability of these new oral treatments can definitely heal patients and ...

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of liver cancer. The main risk factors for HCC are alcoholism, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, obesity, type 2 diabetes, cirrhosis, aflatoxin, hemochromatosis, Wilson's disease and hemophilia. Occupational exposure to chemicals is another risk factor for HCC. Often the relationship between occupational risk and HCC is unclear and the reports are fragmented and inconsistent. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge regarding the association of infective and non-infective occupational risk exposure and HCC in order to encourage further research and draw attention to this global occupational public health problem. Core tip: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common human cancer. This review summarizes current knowledge regarding the occupational risk factors of HCC. In particular, we underline not only the infective but also non-infective occupational risk exposure, including chemical agents and toxic metabolites which are a major cause of liver damage.

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Objective The aim of the paper is to review the current information relating to the diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in pregnant women and children, particularly those infected by mother-to-child transmission. Study Design A review of published literature was performed to identify relevant articles published between January 2015 and March 2019 on: HCV infection in pregnant woman, mother-to child-transmission of HCV and HCV infection in pediatrics. The results of the evaluation of the different studies were summarized in two sections describing separately the screening and effective treatments in pregnant women and children. Results The rate of mother-to-child transmission of HCV is approximately 5%. HCV infection is strongly associated with cholestasis and preterm birth. Prenatal diagnosis of hepatitis C virus has a dual benefit for mother and child. Perinatally infected children develop cirrhosis in earlier age than those who acquire HCV as adolescents. Pregnant women with cirrhosis have a higher risk of poor maternal and neonatal outcomes than those without cirrhosis. Conclusion To improve public health, universal screening of pregnant women for HCV infection should be performed. Early identification of women and children with HCV infection is important to enable them to be included in assessment and/or treatment programs.