Advance Reported in Fight Against Hepatitis C

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Advance Reported in Fight Against Hepatitis C

A major new advance in the treatment of hepatitis C and other chronic virus

infections may now be possible, according to researchers at the La Jolla

Institute for Allergy & Immunology. By manipulating it's molecular function,

scientists were able to release the body's own immune system to completely

eradicate hepatitis C in infected mice. They released the disease-fighting

power of the immune system by blocking the interleukin-10 (IL-10) messenger

molecule receptor with a simple antibody.

" This is a significant advance that holds great promise for the treatment of

chronic virus infections, " said Kronenberg, LIAI President &

Scientific Director in a news release. " The research is particularly

exciting because the team was able to completely eradicate the usually

chronic infection in the mice, not just tone it down, like many of the

current treatment methods for such infections. " Kroneberg said the same

process may also be applicable to AIDS, cytomegalovirus and other chronic

virus infections.

The study was published Oct. 16 in the online version of the Journal of

Experimental Medicine. A separate study at the Scripps Research Institute

produced similar results.

http://alcoholism.about.com/b/a/256301.htm

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