Hepatitis C infections are some of the most common that affect the liver. They are caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV).Globally, HCV affected an estimated 71 million people in 2015, and between 2013 and 2016, about 2.4 million people in the United States were living with HCV infections.
If a person does not receive a diagnosis and treatment, an HCV infection can become chronic, leading to a risk of cirrhosis, which is scarring of the liver.
Because initial symptoms of an HCV infection can go undiagnosed for a long time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now advise “one-time hepatitis C testing of all adults (18 years and older) and all pregnant women during every pregnancy.”
What people need to understand is that this virus, although highly curable, if left untreated, becomes one of the main causes of cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Most people do not exhibit any symptoms, but a few “unlucky” ones may experience fatigue, fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and evenjaundice.
The most common way of becoming infected is through exposure to infected blood. A small quantity of it is enough for someone to contract the virus.Although the most cited means of infection are through intravenous drug use, unsafe injection practices, contaminated blood transfusions or blood products, or inadequate sterilization of medical equipment, sometimes a small cut on the finger will suffice.
New research has found a novel cell that can act as a warning sign of a rheumatoid arthritis flare-up.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a type of autoimmune condition. In autoimmune conditions, a person’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells. This causes inflammation.
In rheumatoid arthritis, this inflammation typically affects a person’s joints — particularly the wrists, hands, and knees. As well as painful swelling, rheumatoid arthritis can result in tissue damage and chronic pain, difficulties with balance, and joint irregularities.
Rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by periods during which the symptoms are minimal and periods during which they are more severe (flare-ups).
Predicting flare-ups is difficult, which can make managing the periods during which rheumatoid arthritis inhibits a person’s everyday functioning very challenging.
To better understand how and why flare-ups occur, the authors of the recent study looked into participants’ blood, instead of their joints.
