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Article: Hepatitis C Resists Treatment in African Americans.
- Article from:
- Family Practice News
- Article date:
- February 15, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 International Medical News Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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PHOENIX, ARIZ. -- African Americans infected with hepatitis C virus are less responsive to treatment than are other racial groups.
This finding has now been made in four separate studies reported during the past year. Although no one has a full explanation, many experts are convinced that the finding is real.
"There seems to be a remarkable interaction between race and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection," Dr. Bhupinder S. Anand said at the annual meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology.
"Blacks respond less well to treatment with both interferon and combination therapy [interferon plus ribavirin]." The poor response appears to be ...