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PART XII: IMPORTANT INFORMATION 	

PART 0: Click here for:

ADMINISTRIVIA 

0.01           Introduction 

0.02           Disclaimer 

PART I: Click here for: 

THE BASICS 

I.0.1           What is Hepatitis? 

I.0.2           What Happens in the Body? 

I.0.3           What is the Incubation Period? 

I.0.4           How Does Hepatitis C Usually Begin? 

I.0.5           What Are the Different Types of Hepatitis? 

I.0.6           What is the Function of the Liver? 

I.0.7           Hepatitis C (HCV) 

I.0.7a          When was Hepatitis C Discovered? 

I.0.8           Who Gets Hepatitis? 

I.1.0           How is it Transmitted? 

I.1.0a          How is it NOT Transmitted? 

I.1.1           HCV and Blood Transfusion 

I.1.2           HCV and Intravenous Drug Use 

I.1.3           HCV and IV Immunoglobulin 

I.1.4           Neonatal Transfer of HCV 

I.1.5           Other Means of HCV Transmission 

I.1.5a          Sexual Transmission 

I.1.5b          Occupational Exposue (Health Care Workers) 

I.1.5c          Toothbrushes/Razors/Nail Clippers 

I.1.5d          Hemodialysis 

I.1.6           Highly Speculative Modes of Transmission 

I.1.6a          Tears, Saliva, Urine, Other Body Fluids 

I.1.6b          Cat Scratches 

I.1.6c          Mosquitoes 

I.1.6d          Alternative Medical Procedures 

I.1.6e          Household Transmission 

I.1.6f          Other 

I.1.6g          Is HCV Anything Like HIV? 

I.1.7           Prevention 

I.1.7a          When and How Long Can it be Spread? 

I.1.7b          How Can the Spread of HCV be Prevented? 

I.1.7c          Cleaning Up Blood Spills 

I.1.7d          What to do in Case of an Accidental Needlestick 

I.1.8           Whom Should I Tell? 

I.1.9           Can You Get Hepatitis More Than Once? 

PART II:Click here for: 

MEDICAL ISSUES 

II.0.1          How Do I Find Good Medical Care for Hepatitis 

II.0.2          Hepatologists and Gastroenterologists   

                (see Appendix D for regional list)

II.1.0          How is it Diagnosed? 

II.1.1          Antibody Tests 

II.1.2          What is a PCR? 

II.1.2a         What is a Genotype? 

II.1.3          Is it Possible the Test Could be Wrong? 

II.2.0          Biopsy 

II.2.0a         What is a Liver Biopsy 

II.2.0b         What Are the Dangers of Liver Biopsy? 

II.2.0c         Will it Hurt? 

II.2.1          Chronic Active and Chronic Persistent 

II.2.2          What Are the Main Symptoms of HCV? 

II.2.2a         Fatigue 

II.2.2b         Right-Side Pain 

II.2.2c         Loss of Libido 

II.2.2d         Red Palms 

II.2.2e         Nausea 

II.2.2f         Brain Fog (Confusion/Forgetfulness) 

II.2.2g         Itching 

II.2.2h         Vision Problems 

II.2.2i         Dizziness 

II.3.0          It’s Not All In Your Head! 

II.3.1          What is the Evolution of the Disease? 

II.4.0          What Other Medical Problems Are Related to HCV? 

II.4.0a         Cryoglobulinemia 

II.4.0b         Thyroid and Autoimmune Problems 

II.4.0c         Rheumatoid Arthritis-Like Symptoms 

II.4.0d         Fibromyalgia 

II.4.0e         Dermatological Manifestations 

II.4.0f         Porphyrins 

II.4.0g         Lichen Planus 

II.5.0          Cycles and Flareups 

II.6.0          Should I be Vaccinated Against Other Types? 

II.7.0          HCV and Women’s Concerns 

II.7.1          How Does HCV Relate to Pregnancy? 

II.8.0          How Does HCV Affect Children? 

II.9.0          What Are the Different Clinical Indications? 

II.9.1          Elevated Liver Enzymes 

II.9.1a         Elevated Alpha-Fetoprotein Levels

II.9.2          Jaundice 

II.9.3          Hepatomegaly/Splenomegaly 

II.9.4          Spider Nevi 

II.9.5          Ascites 

II.9.6          Portal Hypertension/Varices 

II.9.7          Hepatic Encephalopathy 

II.9.8          Cirrhosis 

II.9.9          Fulminant Hepatitis 

II.9.10         Does HCV Increase the Likelihood of Cancer? 

II.10.0         How Many of Us Are There? 

PART III:Click here for: 

TREATMENT (Conventional Medicine)  

III.1.0         INTERFERONS

III.1.1         Interferon Monotherapy 

III.1.1a        Intron A 

III.1.1b        When Is Interferon Treatment Not Indicated? 

III.1.1c        Interferon "Breakthrough" and "Non-Response"

III.1.1d        Consensus Interferon

III.1.1e        Alferon 

III.1.1f        Beta Interferon, Recombinant 

III.1.1g        Roferon 

III.1.1h        Lymphoblastoid IFN 

III.1.1i        Mochida Interferon Alpha IFN-Alpha Mochida500

III.1.1j        Omniferon Alpha-IF 

III.1.1k        Veldona Oral Alpha-IFN 

III.1.1l        Omega IFN

III.1.1m        Albuferon

III.1.2         Pegylated Interferon

III.1.2a        Pegylated Intron A (Peg-Intron A)

III.1.2b        Peginterferon Alpha-2a  (Pegasys)

III.1.3         Interferon Combinations

III.1.3a        Interferon and Ribavirin Combined (Rebetron)

III.1.3b        Pegylated IFN and Ribavirin

III.1.3c        Interferon and Iron Reduction Therapy 

III.1.3d        Interferon and Thymosin 

III.1.3e        Interferon and GM-CSF – Combined

III.1.3f        Interferon and NAC

III.1.3g        Interferon and Amantadine

III.1.3h        Interferon and Ofloxacin 

III.1.3i        Interferon and Histamine Dihydrochloride (Maxamine or Ceplene) 

III.1.3j        IFN and Ketoprofen

III.1.3k        IFN and Ursodeoxycholic Acid (Actigall) 

III.1.3l        IFN and VX-497

III.1.3m        IFN and Colchicine

III.1.3n        Triple Therapy

III.1.4         Dosage

III.1.4a        Mega Dosing

III.1.4b        Maintenance Dosing

III.1.4c        Induction Dosing

III.1.4d        Longer Treatment

III.2.0         INTERLEUKINS

III.2.1         Interleukin-10

III.2.2         Interleukin-12

III.3.0         HCV PROTEIN-BASED THERAPIES

III.3.1         Protease Inhibitors 

III.3.2         Polymerase Inhibitors

III.3.3         Helicase Inhibitors

III.3.4         Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors

III.3.5         VP-50406

III.3.6         Interferon Alpha Gene Therapy 

III.3.7         Ribozyme Therapy 

III.3.8         IRES Inhibitors 

III.3.9         Antisense Based Therapies (Isis 14803)

III.4.0         VACCINES

III.4.1         HCV Antibody

III.4.2         InnoVac-C  

III.4.3         XTL-002

III.4.4         Epimmune Vaccine  

III.4.5         Vical Technology

III.4.6         ChimeriVax Vaccine  

III.4.7         Chiron Vaccine  

III.4.8         Iscoprep 703 ISCOM  

III.4.9         Therapore

III.5.0         OTHER THERAPIES

III.5.1         Nucleoside Analogs 

III.5.2         ACH-126447 (Helioxanthin)

III.5.3         Ampligen 

III.5.4         Enzo Immune Regulator

III.5.5         Geron Telomerase Activation

III.5.6         HE2000

III.5.7         Hypericin (Vimrx, Hifritzen)

III.5.8         Immtech Mono and Dication Compounds

III.5.9         IP501

III.5.10       Macrokine (WF10)

III.5.11       S-28463 (R-848; VML-600)

III.6.0         TRANSPLANT   

III.7.0         OTHERS

PART IV: Click here for: 

TREATMENT (Alternative Medicine)

IV.0.0         Known Herb-Drug Interactions

IV.0.1         Acupuncture 

IV.0.2         Chiropractic 

IV.0.3         Energy Healing 

IV.0.4         Reflexology 

IV.0.5         Homeopathy 

IV.0.6         Reticulose 

IV.0.7         Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) 

IV.0.8         Ozone Therapy 

IV.1.0         Herbal Treatments and Vitamins 

IV.1.1         Kombucha Tea 

IV.1.2         Reishi/Shitake Mushrooms 

IV.1.3         Dandelion 

IV.1.4         Milk Thistle 

IV.1.5         Artichoke 

IV.1.6         Licorice Root 

IV.1.7         Spirulina 

IV.1.8         Garlic 

IV.1.9         Thymic Factors 

IV.1.10        Vitamin C 

IV.1.11        Vitamin B12 

IV.1.12        Vitamin E 

IV.1.13        Natural Interferon Boosters

IV.1.14        Other Herbs or Vitamins 

IV.1.15        Water

IV.2.0         Exercise 

IV.3.0         Stress Management 

IV.4.0         Positive Attitude 

IV.5.0         Tai Chi/Chi Kung/Yoga/Meditation 

IV.6.0         Other Ways to Keep Yourself Healthy

PART V: Click here for: 

NUTRITION 

V.1.0          What Should I Do About Nutrition?  

V.1.1          Foods to Avoid 

V.2.0          Nutrition and Cirrhosis 

V.3.0          Coffee, Tea, Caffeine and Other Stimulants 

V.4.0          Salt 

PART VI: Click here for: 

DRUGS AND ALCOHOL 

VI.1.0         Alcohol 

VI.2.0         Tobacco 

VI.3.0         Marijuana 

VI.3.1         Cocaine 

VI.4.0         What are the Effects of Recreational Drugs?

VI.4.1         Intravenous Drug Use Precautions 

VI.4.2         Cleaning Fits 

VI.4.3         Methadone 

PART VII:Click here for:

HOW CAN HCV AFFECT MY EMOTIONAL LIFE? 

VII.1.0        How is Depression Related to Hepatitis?   

VII.1.1        Mood Changes 

VII.1.2        Dealing with a Chronic Disease 

VII.1.2a       Accepting

VII.1.3        Dealing with a Lower Level of Energy 

VII.1.4        Irritability 

VII.1.5        How Can HCV Affect My Sex Life?   

VII.1.6        Helping a Friend with Hepatitis C 

VII.1.6a       What Can I Say?

VII.1.6b       What Shouldn’t I Say?

PART VIII:Click here for: 

LIVING WITH HCV 

VIII.1.0       Life Problems Created by HCV 

PART IX:Click here for: 

DEALING WITH INTERFERON THERAPY

IX.1.0         General Tips From Schering 

IX.2.0         How Does Interferon Work? 

IX.2.1         What Will Interferon Achieve? 

IX.2.2         Clinical Trials 

IX.2.3         Will I Be Able To Continue Work? 

IX.2.4         How Will I Know If The Interferon Is Working? 

IX.3.0         Side Effects 

IX.3.0a        Nausea 

IX.3.0b        Hair Loss 

IX.3.0c        Fatigue 

IX.3.0d        Mouth Problems 

IX.3.0e        Infections 

IX.4.0         Importance of Water 

IX.5.0         Storage 

IX.5.0a        Traveling With Interferon 

IX.6.0         Timing of Injections 

IX.7.0         Injection Hints 

IX.7.0a        Inject Ease: 

IX.7.0b        Bruising And Diluent Amounts 

IX.7.0c        Needle Size 

IX.8.0         Help! I Think I Hit a Vein! 

IX.9.0         What to do When You Can’t Afford the Interferon 

IX.10.0        Interferon Treatment Of HCV With Cirrhosis 

PART X:Click here for: 

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

X.1.0          Long-Term Prognosis (Am I Going to Die?) 

X.2.0          Current Research, Testing, New Drugs 

PART XI:CLick here: 

EMPLOYMENT AND DISABILITY 

XI.1.0         Income Security: Job and/or Disability Benefits 

XI.1.1         How Do I Handle Problems About My Job?   

XI.1.2         Problems in Seeking Disability Benefits 

XI.1.3         Applying for SSI/SSDI 

XI.1.4         Winning Your Social Insurance Claim: 

               15 Mistakes You Cannot Afford to Make

XI.1.5         Applying for Disability in British Columbia

PART XII:Click here for:

IMPORTANT INFORMATION 

XII.1.0        What Else is Important to Know About HCV? 

XII.1.1        HCV Information Resources 

XII.1.2        National (USA)

XII.1.3        Canada 

XII.1.3a       Australia/New Zealand

XII.1.3b       England/Scotland

XII.1.3c       Germany/Austria

XII.1.3d       Uruguay

XII.1.4        HCV Resources on the Internet and Usenet 

XII.1.5        Bibliography: Suggested Reading 

XII.1.6        Newsletters, Magazines and Videos 

XII.1.7        Local Associations and Support Groups 

XII.1.7a       United States

Click here for : Appendix

APPENDIX A:   Where to Get the Current Version of the FAQ

APPENDIX B:   Common Abbreviations and Medical Terms

APPENDIX C:   Some Recommended World Wide Web Sites

APPENDIX D:   A List of Canadian Doctors Specializing 

              in the treatment of  HCV

APPENDIX E:   History of Blood Safety, Canada’s Track Record, 

              and Compensation Issues

APPENDIX F:   The Double Challenge of HIV/HCV Co-infection