Creating Waves of Awareness
Understanding HCV Infection
Dear all …Thank you for your warm welcome I received in your society which gives me the feeling that all the members of this site know each other long time ago.
Today I would like to discuss precisely a major health problem in the developing countries including my home country (Egypt) as well as some developed countries. This subject is Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.
It is well known that Hepatitis C Virus infection passes through the following stages:
• Acute HCV: Usually passed unnoticed in most of cases. It is accompanied by mild non- specific symptoms.
• Chronic HCV: Occurs in 85% of cases, and defined as the persistence of HCV for greater than six months.
• Liver Cirrhosis: Occurs in about 20% of chronic cases. Once patients have developed cirrhosis, they are at risk for decompensation from the complication of portal hypertension. These include variceal bleeding, ascites and hepatic encephalopathy. The other significant complication associated with HCV infection is the development of hepato-cellular carcinoma. It is generally developed on top of cirrhosis.
From my experience among such cases, I have the following comments:
• It is very rare to diagnose the acute stage of HCV infection. I only diagnosed two cases; one was in the post operative period and the other one was a nurse after an infected needle prick.
• The chronic stage usually diagnosed during screening for viruses or during routine liver function tests.
• During this stage we used to look at the liver enzymes or the liver biopsy finding to see if there is an activity of the virus or not. Accordingly; we give the patient the long acting interferon in case of activity.
• Although the course of interferon is very expensive and of long duration the results and the sustained virological response is not satisfactory in my opinion.
• After the patient passes to cirrhosis, we are just managing the complications and in my opinion it is an irreversible stage.
• My point of view is we all have to find a solution to prevent the progress of chronic infection into cirrhosis. This will be of great value.
Thank you and I hope this precise comment will be of value.
Dr. Ahmed Maher Hal
Today I would like to discuss precisely a major health problem in the developing countries including my home country (Egypt) as well as some developed countries. This subject is Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.
It is well known that Hepatitis C Virus infection passes through the following stages:
• Acute HCV: Usually passed unnoticed in most of cases. It is accompanied by mild non- specific symptoms.
• Chronic HCV: Occurs in 85% of cases, and defined as the persistence of HCV for greater than six months.
• Liver Cirrhosis: Occurs in about 20% of chronic cases. Once patients have developed cirrhosis, they are at risk for decompensation from the complication of portal hypertension. These include variceal bleeding, ascites and hepatic encephalopathy. The other significant complication associated with HCV infection is the development of hepato-cellular carcinoma. It is generally developed on top of cirrhosis.
From my experience among such cases, I have the following comments:
• It is very rare to diagnose the acute stage of HCV infection. I only diagnosed two cases; one was in the post operative period and the other one was a nurse after an infected needle prick.
• The chronic stage usually diagnosed during screening for viruses or during routine liver function tests.
• During this stage we used to look at the liver enzymes or the liver biopsy finding to see if there is an activity of the virus or not. Accordingly; we give the patient the long acting interferon in case of activity.
• Although the course of interferon is very expensive and of long duration the results and the sustained virological response is not satisfactory in my opinion.
• After the patient passes to cirrhosis, we are just managing the complications and in my opinion it is an irreversible stage.
• My point of view is we all have to find a solution to prevent the progress of chronic infection into cirrhosis. This will be of great value.
Thank you and I hope this precise comment will be of value.
Dr. Ahmed Maher Hal
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Comment by Debby Bruck on July 11, 2009 at 11:39pm -
Dr. Ahmed ~ have you used homeopathics for these hepatitis C cases and supportive herbs for the liver?
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Comment by david hartley on July 12, 2009 at 7:13am -
Dear Dr. Ahmed,
first: Welcome !
next - you wrote:
"we all have to find a solution to prevent the progress of chronic infection into cirrhosis"
--
The solution as I am aware of it is the practice of "classical" (also known as..) Hahnemannian homeoapthy.
The remedies required, the potencies, and other details of each case will vary somewhat from one to the next.
AS ALWAYS in homeopathy .. we are not treating the entity referred to as "hepatitis C" .. we are treating a unique individual human being's expression of dis-ease... given a modern medical clinical diagnosis of "chronic hepatitis C" .. competent practice of homeopathy "by the book" should result in 100% success in terms of prevention of cirrhosis (and likely an individualized "cure" of susceptibility to chronic infection including hepatitis virus .. which would be partially evidenced in clear blood tests.)
If you are in some way associated with official "public health" agencies in your country, you may be in a position to assist in instituting some clinical trials in which (very importantly!) -individualized homeopathic treatment
It is critical to note that so-called "clinical trials" attempting to establish rote treatment / "protocol" / "regimen" are INTRINSICALLY and DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED .. to the established / effective / time-honored homeopathic method of cure and case management.. and as such, are doomed to very partial levels of success as compared to "ACTUAL" homeopathic treatment. (in fact, many times such "trials" are designed and funded by pharmaceutical companies to "prove" that homeopathy doesn't work .. homeopathy clearly DOES work, but with enough money and enough moral and mental corporate-criminality, it is certainly possible to design end execute farcical pseudo-science trials designed with 'failure' as the goal.)
If you are willing and able to co-create some "container" for teaching the classical Hahnemannian practice of homeopathy in the context of prevention of progression o f HCV to cirrhosis, I am absolutely positive that many homeopaths here @ homeopathy world community will be interested in taking part in making it a success!
In any event, you should be able to gather useful information here as regards the homeopathic approach to the cure of chronic disease.. no modification to this 200yrs 'time tested' approach will be required to utilize it in the context of this discussion...
warm wishes
david hartley
www.holistiq.com
www.karmaclinic.org
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