Coffee slows liver disease progression in chronic hepatitis C patients.Byline: ANI Washington, Oct 21 (ANI): A new study has shown that patients with chronic hepatitis C who drink three or more cups of coffee per day have a 53 percent lower risk of liver disease progression than non-coffee drinkers. The study, led by Neal Freedman, Ph.D., MPH, from the National Cancer Institute (NCI See Liberate. ), included 766 participants who had hepatitis C-related bridging fibrosis or cirrhosis and failed to respond to standard treatment of the anti-viral drugs peginterferon and ribavirin ribavirin /ri·ba·vi·rin/ (ri?bah-vi´rin) a broad-spectrum antiviral used in the treatment of severe viral pneumonia caused by respiratory syncytial virus, particularly in high-risk infants; also used in conjunction with interferon . At the beginning of the study, HALT-C patients were asked to report their typical frequency of coffee intake and portion size over the past year, using 9 frequency categories ranging from 'never' to 'every day' and 4 categories of portion size (1 cup, 2 cups, 3-4 cups, and 5+ cups). A similar question was asked for black and green tea intake. "This study is the first to address the association between liver disease progression related to hepatitis C and coffee intake," said Dr. Freedman. Participants were seen every 3 months during the 3.8-year study period to assess clinical outcomes which included: ascites Ascites Definition Ascites is an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the abdomen. Description Rapidly developing (acute) ascites can occur as a complication of trauma, perforated ulcer, appendicitis, or inflammation of the colon or other (abnormal accumulation of fluid in the abdomen), prognosis of chronic liver disease Chronic liver disease is a liver disease of slow process and persisting over a long period of time, resulting in a progressive destruction of the liver. It includes amongst others:
var·i·ce·al adj. Of, relating to, or caused by a varix or varices. hemorrhage, or increase in fibrosis. Liver biopsies were also taken at 1.5 and 3.5 five years to determine the progression of liver disease. Results showed that participants who drank 3 or more cups of coffee per day had a relative risk of .47 for reaching one of the clinical outcomes. Researchers did not observe any association between tea intake and liver disease progression, though tea consumption was low in the study. "Given the large number of people affected by HCV HCV abbr. hepatitis C virus HCV 1 Hepatitis C virus, see there 2. Human coronavirus. See Coronavirus. it is important to identify modifiable risk factors associated with the progression of liver disease," said Dr. Freedman. "Although we cannot rule out a possible role for other factors that go along with drinking coffee, results from our study suggest that patients with high coffee intake had a lower risk of disease progression," Dr. Freedman added. The study appears in the November issue of the Journal Hepatology. (ANI) Copyright 2009 Asian News International The Asian News International (ANI) agency provides multimedia news to China and 50 bureaus in India. It covers virtually all of South Asia since its foundation and presently claims, on its official website, to be the leading South Asia-wide news agency. (ANI) - All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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