Boceprevir boosts hepatitis C treatment

摘要

Over 200,000 people in Britain are infected with the hepatitis C virus. Most are unaware — such is the nature of the infection. In most it remains undetected for years. But it can be ticking time-bomb capable of incapacitating its host's liver. "Seventy-five per cent of people infected with the hepatitis C virus are unable to clear the infection spontaneously and will require antiviral treatment," says Ashley Brown, consultant hepatologist at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. "Up to a third of thos chronically infected may suffer premature death due to end-stage [liver] complications, although these may take 25 to 30 years to develop."