5^th World Congress on Hepatitis & Liver Diseases August 10-12, 2017 London, UK

Hepatitis C is a devastating viral disease that generally progresses slowly, meaning patients often remain asymptomatic and unaware they are infected until very serious and often expensive complications emerge as a result of damage to the liver. It is estimated that about half of those infected are not aware that they carry the virus. The recent remarkable advances in treating hepatitis C built on incremental improvements achieved over the previous two decades to transform hepatitis C from a chronic, fatal disease, to an infection that with new and forthcoming treatments, can be potentially cured.

The use of herbal products as medications has its origin thousands of years ago. In Western countries, herbal medicine products are gaining increasing popularity. Some herbal products may potentially benefit people with liver disease.

Non-viral hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver caused by toxins, drugs, or other harmful chemicals that destroy cells in the liver (Hepatocytes).  Acute hepatitis damages hepatocytes, make up 70-85% of the total mass of the liver. The disease is a growing problem due to the increasing number of dietary supplements with liver side effects. If hepatitis leads to liver failure, a liver transplant is the only treatment option that can improve survival.

The best way to prevent hepatitis is by getting the hepatitis vaccines. Vaccination is safe and effective and it is recommended for all. Efforts to develop a hepatitis C vaccine started more than 20 years ago, when the hepatitis C virus was identified. The hepatitis C virus is more variable than are the viruses that cause hepatitis A and hepatitis B. Hepatitis C virus occurs in at least six genetically distinct forms with 50 subtypes. A global vaccine would have to protect against all these variants of the virus.

Hepatocellular carcinoma accounts for most liver cancers. This type of liver cancer occurs more often in men than women and is usually seen in people age 50 or older. It is commonly associated with cirrhosis and hepatitis. The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma is highest in Asia and Africa, where the endemic high prevalence of hepatitis B and hepatitis C strongly predisposes to the development of chronic liver disease and subsequent development of hepatocellular carcinoma. Other risk factors can include a history of alcohol abuse.

Screening for Liver diseases has been advocated with the intention of intervening to halt its progression. Abnormal liver tests are those that measure synthesis of proteins made by the liver (albumin, clotting factors) or the liver's capacity to metabolize drugs. The impact of diagnosis of hepatitis C virus on quality of life is worse in patients aware of their viral status compared with individuals unaware of their viral status.

Liver is responsible for many critical functions within the body. It helps your body digest food, store energy, and remove poisons. If it becomes diseased or injured, the loss of those functions can cause significant damage to the body. There are over 100 different forms of liver disease that affect men, women and children. These diseases include cirrhosis, alcohol abuse, hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E, Epstein Barr virus (infectious mononucleosis), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and iron overload (hemochromatosis). The main symptoms of liver imbalance include weakness and fatigue, weight loss, nausea, vomiting, and yellow discoloration of the skin (jaundice).

Several disorders contribute to liver disease in pregnancy such as acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP) and intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (IHCP), hyperemesis gravidarum and hemolysis and elevated liver enzymes and low platelets (HELLP) syndrome. Liver disease such as acute viral hepatitis can occur in pregnancy and pregnancy may occur in a patient with underlying chronic liver disease including patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension, and patients who have undergone liver transplantation.

Gastroenterology is the study of detailed understanding of the physiology of the gastrointestinal organs including the movement of material through the stomach and intestine the digestion and absorption of nutrients into the body, removal of waste from the system, and the function of the liver as a digestive organ.

Liver transplantation surgery technique to replace a diseased or injured liver with a healthy liver delivered from a healthy person. The liver is involved in various metabolic functioning including metabolism of drugs and toxins, removing degradation products of normal body metabolism (for example clearance of ammonia and bilirubin from the blood), and synthesis of many important proteins and enzymes (such as factors necessary for blood to clot). Doctors or surgeons suggest liver transplant surgery to the patients who suffer from severe Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) or Chronic liver failure. This surgery carries a risk of other complications including infection, liver inflammation, blood clots, liver rejection, memory and thinking problems.

Overall, about one-third of people with HIV also have hepatitis C. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) can be transmitted in some of the same ways as HIV and hepatitis B. HIV can worsen hepatitis C. HIV not only increase the risk of liver damage, but it can also speed up the onset of liver damage following infection. People who are coinfected with HIV and HCV should work closely with health care providers in order to monitor and treat both conditions.