Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Online
http://www.jsonline.com/alive/nutrition/0507hepa.stm
Are There Vitamins a Person With Hepatitis C Should Take?
May 6, 1998
The question: Are there vitamins that a person with hepatitis
C should take, and are there vitamins that should not be taken?
Paul G. Auwaerter, M.D., responds: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is
the leading infectious cause of hepatitis and cirrhosis in the
United States. Of individuals infected with HCV, as many as 20
percent of individuals can have problems, including chronic
hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver cancer or immune abnormalities.
Vitamins are not known to assist with control or treatment of
HCV, although severe nutritional deficiencies (such as those
seen in alcoholic populations) can cause additional problems
with HCV and liver disease. If HCV has injured the liver enough
to affect its metabolic abilities such as that seen in early
cirrhosis, then some vitamins should be used very carefully.
Fat soluble vitamins (especially vitamins A, D and E) can
accumulate in the liver, and if taken in "megadose"
quantities may damage even normal livers. Vitamin A is perhaps
the most toxic of this group with accidental overdosages causing
fulminant liver failure. For this reason, no more than standard
recommended daily allowances (RDA's) of vitamins A, D and E are
suggested for those with liver disease, regardless of the cause.
Paul G. Auwaerter, M.D., is an assistant professor in The
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, with appointments
in the divisions of internal medicine and infectious diseases.
His research interests include virology and immunology, as well
as the study of community-acquired pneumonia.