Why is there cures for hep a and b but not c??

[kimberlynn]

Just wondering how that works.

[Jakied]

Hep a and b do not 'mutate' the way hep c does.  Hep c recognizes the body defense and changes its makeup to avoid being 'killed' by your immune system.

Some doctors say a vaccine for hcv will prove more difficult to discover than a vaccine for hiv.

Hcv is a very elusive target for medication.

[illo]

And, they haven't been able to isolate & replicate the virus invetro until last year.  This made it difficult to find a cure that works.  Hopefully soon.  I think they'll look back and be amazed at the treatment of today, and what we all endured.  They will think we were crazy.

[antman]

a cure in our lifetime would be great. in the meantime it's Peg and riba for me! if i don't get cured this time, hopefully damage will slow down in time for a new cure. i say that with hope for everyone afficted with hep C.

[Liv]

It was once explained to me that Hep C is an "RNA" virus and Hep B a "DNA" virus and RNA viruses mutate more quickly.  It gets very technical and I guess you would have to have an understanding of Immunology, which I don't.  I also didn't think there was a cure for Hep B or Hep A just that vaccines for those viruses were available.  Not sure but I imagine there are others on this board who have knowledge and understanding re: this issue.

[bobbyullc]

good question, i don't know? never thought about it. i have antibodies for a,b and c,. must have had a terrible childhood.

[jboyhk]

This is the first time I ever heard there is a cure for HepB.

There is a vacinne for HepB but currently no cure. The vaccine doesn't help if you already have HepB.

[willows]

No one will think we are crazy, we will be the old timers, talking about "back in the day" and I, for one, will thank the gods every day for finding a humane treatment for this and any virus.

After all, in the whole scheme of things, we are still such young organisms, still so much evolving to do.  Why not a cure for Hep C?  Well, why not a cure yet for cancer?  So many medical questions, I do have faith that for the most part, there are doctors and researchers doing their damndest to find the cure.  Bright young faces who want to make a difference in our worlds, I can see better treatments just peeking over the horizon.  And I am excited at the prospect of getting to try one in about two years.

Life in general, can still be so exciting, when one looks with the right eyes.  And asks the right questions, don't you think?

Willow

[illo]

2 weeks in and I feel like an 'old timer' already.
:)

[GrandmaA]

Viruses are either active or inactive in the body. We are trying to get the hep. C virus to be inactive, but you are never really "cured" from A, B or C. It just goes dormant. It's like the chicken pox you had as a kid. It is a virus and it comes back as shingles to flare up and bother you when you are under stress and older. It can come back in so many different forms that it can be very difficult to diagnose. There was a guy a work who had it but started out as a back problem. He suffered so much until he got diagnosed and the right medicine. I was so surprised when I heard it was shingles. He was older and under a lot of stress.