Hepatitis C: What is the virus and how can it be treated?
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Like many rockers, Steven Tyler, 74, is well known for battling drug addiction. He has entered rehab several times over the years – including when he was 60. But not everyone knows that the rocker underwent 11 months of treatment for hepatitis C that he said “about killed” him.
Tyler, from New York, was diagnosed with the condition in 2003 but only opened up about it three years later. Hepatitis is characterised by inflammation of the liver and Hepatitis C in particular is a viral infection that can cause serious liver damage.
“I’ve been pretty quiet about this,” he told the American TV programme Access Hollywood.
“I’ve had hepatitis C for a long time, asymptomatic.”
For treatment, he was given a medication called interferon – a type of chemotherapy that is no longer used in the UK or US as a treatment for hepatitis C because of its side-effects.
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“I talked to my doctor … and he said now is the time and it’s 11 months of chemotherapy,” said Tyler.
“So I went on that and it about killed me.”
According to the NHS, it is the most common version of the disease and is spread when someone comes into contact with the blood of an infected person.
The health body explains that 90 percent of hepatitis C infections occur in people who inject drugs or have injected them in the past.
However, the rockstar, who used a variety of drugs, including heroin, cocaine, and LSD over his lifetime, never revealed exactly how he contracted the disease.
Why was interferon for hepatitis C discontinued?
Interferon medications work by alerting the body’s immune system about the presence of viruses.
They can also communicate with the immune cells and encourage immune cells to attack viruses.
Typically, therapy involving interferons is around 24 to 48 weeks long – which is why there are likely to have side effects.
In the end, Tyler revealed in the interview that the interferons were a success.
“It is nonexistent in my bloodstream as we speak, so it’s one of those few miracles in doctoring where it’s like a complete cure. It’s gone,” he said.
Today hepatitis C is mostly treated using medications called direct-acting antiviral tablets, which is the treatment of choice in the NHS.
They are known to be effective at clearing 90 percent of all hepatitis C infections, explains the NHS.
These drugs are designed to target the reproductive cycle of the virus by disrupting the virus’ vital proteins.
Symptoms of Hepatitis C
According to the Mayo Clinic, these are the symptoms of Hepatitis C to look out for:
- Bleeding easily
- Dark-coloured urine
- Itchy skin
- Weight loss
- Swelling in your legs
- Spiderlike blood vessels on skin
- Poor appetite
- Jaundice.
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