Hepatitis is the Latin word for liver inflammation. It is characterised by the destruction of a number of liver cells and the presence of inflammatory cells in the liver tissue.

Hepatitis can be caused by diseases that primarily attack the liver cells. It can also arise as a result of a disease such as mononucleosis.

Hepatitis can be divided into two subgroups according to its duration:

# acute hepatitis - lasting less than six months

# chronic hepatitis - lasting longer than six months.

The main goal of treatment of chronic hepatitis C is to eliminate detectable viral RNA from the blood. Lack of detectable hepatitis C virus

RNA from blood six months after completing therapy is known as a sustained response. Studies suggest that a sustained response is

equated with a very favorable prognosis and that it may be equivalent to a cure. There may be other more subtle benefits of treatment,

such as slowing the progression of liver scarring (fibrosis) in patients who do not achieve a sustained response.

All current treatment protocols for hepatitis C are based on the use of various preparations of interferon alpha, which are administered

by intramuscular or subcutaneous injection. Interferon alpha is a naturally occurring glycoprotein that is secreted by cells in response to

viral infections. It exerts its effects by binding to a membrane receptor. Receptor binding initiates a series of intracellular signaling

events that ultimately leads to enhanced expression of certain genes. This leads to the enhancement and induction of certain cellular

activities including augmentation of target cell killing by lymphocytes and inhibition of virus replication in infected cells.