Controlling hepatitis C

Biomedical Research Reports: Hepatitis CEdited by T.J. Liang and J.H. Hoofinagle. Academic Press, 2000. (493 pages)ISBN 0 12 447870 0Chronic hepatitis C represents one of the most important public health problems in the developed and developing world. The recognition that a significant proportion of patients suffering from this chronic viral infection progress to end stage liver disease, requiring liver transplantation and hepatocellular carcinoma was followed by a coordinated effort from different disciplines in order to learn more about this chronic infection and discover more effective treatment strategies. Following the discovery of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in 1989, the area of hepatitis C research has exploded over the past decade, with approximately 20 000 papers published in this field.‘Biomedical Research Reports: Hepatitis C’ fills a significant gap in this field of study by bringing together a number of distinguished experts (mainly from the USA) who have contributed substantially in all aspects of hepatitis C research. This collection of outstanding authors from different fields represents one of the major strengths of this book.It is organized into 25 chapters covering the molecular characteristics of HCV, clinical aspects and frequent complications of acute and chronic hepatitis C infection and its immunopathogenesis. There are also separate chapters dedicated to the course of hepatitis C in certain clinical settings, such as in the presence of HIV co-infection or renal disease and in subsets of patients, alcoholics, cirrhotics, children and pregnant women. To end the book, there are three chapters discussing the role of alternative therapies, future novel therapeutic strategies and the recent progress in the field of vaccine development.The chapters are concise, well written, with very helpful accompanying figures and tables. Special emphasis is devoted to the crucial presentation of the extensive data regarding the treatment of chronic hepatitis C, resulting in a comprehensive review of this topic. Of note is the chapter on complementary and alternative therapies of hepatitis C, which provides an extensive account of the efficacy and toxicity of such remedies by a recently deceased distinguished figure in hepatology research, H. J. Zimmerman, to whom the book is appropriately dedicated.Most of the chapters are well updated with the most recent publications in the field despite the fact that the progress in hepatitis C research is rapid and hard to follow. For example, the most recent advances in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C with interferon-α attached to a molecule of polyethylene glycol (PEGylated) are not included in the book. Although the book covers adequately all aspects of hepatitis C, it appears that the emphasis is on its important diagnostic and clinical features as well as existing therapeutic options.The book is highly recommended to those involved in one way or another with the study of hepatitis C including clinicians, basic science investigators, public health officials and students. It is an excellent, quickly retrievable source of knowledge in this rapidly expanding area of research. It will certainly become a reference book for this important disease and the basis for subsequent editions on this topic.