Hepatitis B and C.
The outcome of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) or Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is determined primarily by the immune response of the infected individual's body (the host). The Foundation is supporting research to investigate the reason why in some people the body's immune response can effectively control viral replication spontaneously while in others it does not and leads to a long term chronic infection. Researchers at the Institute of Hepatology are also using molecular biological and immunological techniques to look at how the body’s immune response is affected by treatment with antiviral therapy. Only a proportion of patients treated with antiviral therapy are cleared of the virus and how to begin controlling and perhaps limiting the extent of liver damage caused by a continuing infection is an important area of study.
The body has two levels of immune response to viral infection; an innate response which is triggered very early after infection by any invading pathogen and an adaptive immune response which recognises and responds to more specific invaders. Antiviral treatment alters the balance between virus reproduction and the body's immune response and understanding how this happens is important in planning when to treat a patient with a therapeutic regimen and how long to continue with that treatment.
The body has two levels of immune response to viral infection; an innate response which is triggered very early after infection by any invading pathogen and an adaptive immune response which recognises and responds to more specific invaders. Antiviral treatment alters the balance between virus reproduction and the body's immune response and understanding how this happens is important in planning when to treat a patient with a therapeutic regimen and how long to continue with that treatment.