Drinking Alcohol Compromises Treatment of Hepatitis C Virus - HCV
Thursday June 26, 2003
A team of NIH-supported researchers today report that alcohol increases replication of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in human cells and, by so doing, may contribute to the rapid course of HCV infection. Full story.
Comments
The research keeps piling in about the negative consequences of drinking alcohol, especially excessive drinking. I wonder if this information will eventually impact the number of bars that currently exist in our society.
The majority of new and existing cases of hepatitis C are related to injection drug use, and in this population the prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity is high. Optimally, all hepatitis C-positive patients should be screened for psychiatric and substance use disorders prior to antiviral therapy. If a patient screens positive, he or she should be referred to a mental health care provider or addiction specialist, assessed for the presence of a psychiatric or substance use disorder, and appropriately treated prior to initiation of antiviral therapy. Although interferon therapy can lead to severe neuropsychiatric side effects, including suicidality, evidence suggests that many patients with comorbid psychiatric and substance use diagnoses can be treated safely and effectively using comanagement strategies.
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rodney
Alcohol Treatment