oodbye, hepatitis Virus

About 3~4 million people in the United States have hepatitis C, which causes serious liver disease and can exacerbate into liver cancer. It is also closely related to type 2 diabetes; the risk of hepatitis C patient developing type 2 diabetes, according to studies, is 1.68 times higher than non-hepatitis C patients. Currently, a drug that is able to clear the hepatitis virus and improve the blood sugar level is under study. The research trial recruited 2,435 subjects that has both hepatitis C and diabetes, with an average age of 62 years. By the end of the trial, 2,180 subjects have cleared their hepatitis C virus and recovered from hepatitis C. Their A1C level dropped from 7.2% to 6.8%. Before the trial, the A1C level of the subjects was higher or equal to 7.2%, but it decreased significantly after the intervention treatment. The cause for this is not yet clear, but hepatitis C has been linked to inflammation and insulin resistance.

Reference:

1.Diabetes Forecast Nov/Dec 2017

2.Diabetes Care 2017 Jun