Surviving Hepatitis C in AZ Jails, State Prisons, and Federal Detention Centers.

The "Hard Time" blogspot is a volunteer-run site for the political organization of people with Hepatitis C behind and beyond prison walls, their loved ones, and whomever cares to join us. We are neither legal nor medical professionals. Some of us may organize for support, but this site is primarily dedicated to education and activism; we are fighting for prevention, detection, treatment, and a cure for Hepatitis C, particularly down in the trenches where most people are dying - in prison or on the street... Join us.

Monday, October 11, 2010

The Brain and Hepatitis C.

--------------------Troubling news from UK News On-line----------------

Hepatitis C Can Damage Brain Cells, According to Recent Canadian Study

By Annika Lindorsson Krugel on Oct 09, 2010 in Health

A recent Canadian study has been able to prove that the hepatitis C virus can injure and inflame brain cells, which can lead to neurological problems for patients living with the chronic disease.

Chris Power, the Canada Research Chair in Neurological Infection and Immunity with the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta, Canada, performed the current study in an attempt at confirming the previously suggested theory that the hepatitis C virus could penetrate the blood-brain barrier, something that is normally very difficult for any virus or infection to do.

The findings suggest that 13 per cent of patients with hepatitis C, which affects 300,000 people in Canada alone, also suffer from neurological problems. Power and his team conducted experiments on human cadavers: “We saw the virus in the brain of a deceased patient who had hepatitis C,” said Powers about the results.

“For a long time, the medical community has recognized some people who have hepatitis C also have memory loss and poor concentration, which is very disabling for those patients,” said Power and explained that the discovery lead to three new and major finding; the hepatitis had damaged those neurons in the brain that are responsible for motor functions, memory and concentration. They also found that the virus also triggered an inflammation of the brain, which in turn lead to more neurons being damaged. Lastly, they discovered that the virus stopped the process of autophagy, which is a natural process the brain undergoes to rid itself of unwanted toxic proteins. As a result, large amounts of toxic proteins were accumulating in the brain causing more damage to the brain cells.

Power added: “Now we have some understanding about the cause of these neurological symptoms that can lead to the development of future treatments for people with hepatitis C.

“This discovery is significant because this is the first time anyone has confirmed that the hepatitis C virus can infect and injure brain cells.”.